The Unofficial Adrien Agreste Protection Squad
by ohwonders
Summary: "Adrien chose to come here, and he worked hard to be accepted for himself, rather than as his father's son. The least we can do is give him the chance he deserves to stay." In which Adrien's life goes to hell in a handbasket, and Marinette's response is to plan a rebellion.
1. Chapter 1

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

"Adrien. Adrien, are you with me? Adrien?"

There was light, and a fuzzy shape in front of him. Adrien's eyes edged open a little more, and the fuzzy shape solidified into Alya, the light glinting off her glasses. "Ugh- Alya? What's-" He tried to sit up, but a hand pushed him down.

"Nuh-uh, golden boy. You totally just passed out. Nino's phoning an ambulance."

"What?" Adrien glanced around; he couldn't even remember where he was, let alone fainting. There was something soft under his head, vaguely pink and smelling achingly familiar.

"We're in the park," a voice said behind him, and that was familiar too. "You and Nino were talking by the fountain, and you suddenly went really pale, and just fell."

Alya scoffed in front of him, shaking her head. "Girl, it was a lot more dramatic that that. You practically vaulted the fountain and caught him before me and Nino even realised anything was up. I mean, that's some Ladybug-level skill right there, and I shoud know."

"Ladybug?" Adrien asked dizzily.

There was a squeak from behind him. "No. It's, um, me. Marinette. Um, hi."

Adrien's brain short-circuited for a moment- he could have _sworn_ that had been Ladybug's voice- and then the pain kicked in. His vision was swimming, clouds and branches above him swirling into a blur, and the gentle trickling from the fountain was growing into a pounding headache.

"The ambulance should be here in a couple of minutes," Nino said, dropping down beside them. "Adrien, dude, are you okay? Wait, stupid question."

"Adrien, stay with me," Alya snapped suddenly, and Adrien wanted to tell her to be quiet, because his head was killing him and there were little black spots in the corner of his vision ( _heh, they look kind of like ladybug spots_ ) and he got about as far as limply waving a hand at her before someone's fingers linked with his own, cool and thin, and there were a pair of blue eyes looking down at him.

"Adrien," Marinette said quietly, and he had to focus to hear her properly, "the ambulance will be here soon. You have to stay awake until then, okay?" He nodded, or at least tried to, because that might have been the longest full sentence he'd ever heard her say directly to him, and her voice was really nice, kind of relaxing.

There were sirens in the background, and he dimly registered Alya standing up, presumably to go and direct them to the right place. There's something cold dripping on his face, and he whined softly, catching a glimpse of Nino splashing water from the fountain at him. "M-Marinette," he whispered, the word scraping his throat like sandpaper.

"Y-yeah?" The fingers tightened around his palm, and Adrien watched blue eyes peering worriedly at him until the paramedics arrived, lifting him off the ground and into the ambulance before he'd even realise he'd had to let go.

* * *

"Oh my god," Marinette said, watching Nino jog away to call Adrien's father. "Oh my god." She was still sitting on the ground, too stunned to even consider standing.

"Oh my god!" Alya yelped beside her, grabbing her arm and hauling her up, spinning her around so enthusiastically she nearly falls in the fountain. "Marinette, you handled that so well!"

"I... did?"

"Girl, if I'd know that all you needed to talk to Adrien was for him to be hurt in some way, I'd have given him a concussion or something _months_ ago." Marinette narrowed her eyes at her, not entirely sure she was joking or not, and Alya laughed, holding up her hands in surrender. "Kidding. Sorry. But seriously, that was so cool! How did you notice he was about to faint? And then catching him like that- it was like that clip I showed you ages ago, remember, the one with Chat Noir getting hit by that signpost and Ladybug catching him before he could fall off the bridge?" She was rambling, dragging Marinette along by the wrist like a ragdoll, and it was several seconds before Marinette could collect her thoughts enough to tug herself free.

"Adrien left his bag," she said, running back to the fountain to pick it up. His stuff was strewn all over the ground, and she tucked it in haphazardly, slinging it over her shoulder and catching up with Alya. "I'll give it back to him later today- I'm sure he'll be out of hospital by then."

"Great idea," Alya said, although she was so excited, Marinette could probably suggest almost anything and she'd agree. "I'm coming with you, though. This is too good an opportunity to mess up."

"Aren't you worried about Adrien at all?" Marinette asked as they got on the bus back to the bakery. "I mean, he collapsed. That can't be good."

Alya nodded. "People collapse for all sorts of reasons, Marinette," she said wisely, earning herself a strange look from the woman sitting across from her. "He's probably just dehydrated or something. I mean, how hot is it today?"

"I guess you're right. Maybe I could take him something from the bakery, too," Marinette suggested. "A get-well-soon gift."

"You are _killing it_ today with the good ideas," Alya beamed. "Today must be your lucky day, Marinette." She leant back in her seat, a blissful smile spreading across her face. "All we need now is Ladybug to show up, and my life will be complete."

"I feel like your definition of a good day kind of relies on other people's problems," Marinette laughed, prodding her in the shoulder. "Come on, it's too hot on this bus. We can walk home."

"My definition of a good day relies on other people's _drama,_ " Alya corrected, but followed her off the bus anyway.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ , the photoshoot's cancelled?"

 _"Exactly what it sounds like, Monsieur Lucas. Adrien is currently indisposed, and is unable to model today. We won't be able to reschedule until we're more aware of his condition."_

"But he was going to be modelling my designs!"

 _"I'm aware of that, Monsieur Lucas. We'll let you know as soon as we've arranged an alternate date. Goodbye."_

The call cut off, leaving Lucas slumped in his seat, staring at the phone in disbelief. "This was supposed to be my big break," he muttered to himself. "Adrien Agreste- _the_ Adrien Agreste- modelling my creations? I'd have been famous overnight." He reached for the sketchbook beside him, rifling through it in frustration. "And now everything's _ruined!_ "

The room got colder suddenly, and a voice spoke in his head. **And just as quickly, your dreams can be restored, my friend. My name is Hawkmoth. Your name is Threadsmith. I can give you the power to become the biggest designer in the world, but you have to do just one thing for me in return: get the the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir.**

A dark smile spread over Lucas's face as his new identity began to take shape, rippling from the sketchbook outwards. "They won't even know what hit them," he promised.


	2. Chapter 2

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

"Alya, come on!" Marinette had Adrien's schoolbag in one hand and a box of macaroons in the other, and she was waiting impatiently for her friend to stop checking her phone and hurry up already. "I don't want to be late or anything, and I can't do this without your help."

Alya sighed. "Marinette, this is a completely unscheduled visit. There's no way you could be late. Anyway, something's come up. Look!" She brandished her phone in Marinette's face. "There's an akuma attack in the park! If I hurry, I might get there in time to see Ladybug and Chat Noir when they arrive!"

"But Adrien-"

"Go on without me," Alya called, already backing away. "You did great earlier. Just act natural. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Says the girl with no self-preservation instincts," Marinette muttered, leaning against the wall exasperatedly. "Now what am I going to do? I can't go to see Adrien on my own, it'll be a disaster."

"Marinette, you need to fight the akuma," Tikki chirped, peering out of her purse. "Adrien will still be there when you get back. Paris, on the other hand..." She paused. "You can hide Adrien's bag in there for now," she added, pointing to a nearby bush. "It's not like it's going to rain, not in this weather, and you know Alya won't come with you until she's seen the fight."

"I guess you're right," Marinette said. She tucked the bag inside the bush as subtly as she could, hoping nobody would be able to see it, and stuffed the macaroons in after it. "Time to transform," she said, ducking behind the bush herself. "Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

By the time Ladybug reached the fight, Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen. The akuma, on the other hand, couldn't have been more visible. He was wearing a custard-yellow suit, hovering several feet off the ground by the fountain. As Marinette watched, the akuma spotted a young woman attempting to run, and threw out a hand towards her. Brightly-coloured ribbons spilled fom his fingertips, wrapping themselves tightly around the woman before she could take another step. The akuma reached for the sketchbook hanging at his side and held it open, and before Marinette could do anything more than gasp, the woman, ribbons and all, was sucked into the pages, vanishing without a trace. "Soon," the akuma whispered. "If I can absorb the fashion senses of every citizen in Paris, then I'll be able to come up with an idea to defeat anyone else's. Even Agreste himself will be forced to bow to my talent!"

"Oh, you're kidding," Marinette groaned. "A rogue fashion designer?"

The akuma heard her. "My name is Threadsmith!" he howled. "And I will not be defeated by someone who thinks skintight black spots are an acceptable fashion choice!"

"Believe me, the uniforms were not our ideas," a familiar voice said, and Marinette turned to see Chat Noir landing behind her. "Although I have no such complaints, my lady."

"Come on, Chat," Marinette said. "Looks like we have a few loose ends to tie up."

Chat grinned. "With pleasure."

* * *

"Adrien, wake up." There was something soft pressing against his cheek- something soft which smelt distinctly of cheese.

"Ugh- Plagg?" Adrien sat up slowly. He was in his own bed, wearing the same clothes he had been earlier, although he couldn't remember how he got there. Plagg was hovering in front of him, tail flicking anxiously.

"You fainted in the park," the kwami said quickly. "Nino, Marinette and Alya were there, they called an ambulance for you. The hospital said you were dehydrated and exhausted, so they sent you home to rest. The photoshoot you had this afternoon has been cancelled."

"Why'd you wake me up, then?" Adrien asked groggily.

"There's a.. situation." Plagg perched on his hand guiltily, whiskers twitching.

Adrien sighed. "Please tell me this is a cheese-related situation, Plagg. Have we run out again?" _Please don't be an akuma. Not when I feel like this._

"We always need more cheese, but there's something more important to deal with. There's an akuma-" Adrien groaned. "-in the park."

"Great," Adrien sighed. "Come on, Plagg." The kwami looked panicked.

"Adrien, do you think that's a good idea? I mean, Ladybug can probably handle this on her own, and you need to rest."

"And Paris needs Chat Noir. Claws out, now!"

Five minutes later, Adrien was wishing he'd listened to Plagg.

"This isn't a game, Chat Noir," Threadsmith hissed. He waved a hand at the hero, and ribbons snaked towards him. Adrien dodged them, landing less than gracefully on the other side of the fountain.

"You're no fun," Adrien grumbled, trying to hide the fact that he was breathing heavily. "Ladybug, any ideas? I'd like to cast this one off quickly, if that's alright with you."

"I'm thinking!" Ladybug called, catching Threadsmith around the ankle with the string of her yoyo. "And that was a knitting pun, by the way, not sewing," she added, landing beside him.

Adrien stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, darn it," he said. "I would have thought my jokes would have you in stitches by now, my lady."

"Look out!"a voice yelped behind them. It was Alya, pointing frantically at the ribbons drifting towards them. Ladybug dived left. Adrien hesitated a second too long, and ended up stumbling backwards into the fountain. Great. Alya probably got that for her blog, on top of everything else.

Ladybug's hand wrapped around his, pulling him through the air until they were crouched behind a statue. "I think the akuma's in his sketchbook," she said. "We need to get it before he uses the entire city for fashion inspiration." Adrien nodded, too dizzy to come up with a proper response. Ladybug caught him by the wrist again. "Are you okay, Chat?" she asked, blue eyes narrowing in concern. "You seem a little off your game."

"I'm fine," he managed after a second. "Just... just a bit tired."

Ladybug studied him for a second longer, then sighed. "We'd better get this sorted, then," she muttered. "Lucky charm!"

There was a flash of light, and a small torch landed in her outstretched hand. Ladybug stared at it in confusion. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked, turning it over.

"No idea," Adrien said, standing up and preparing to jump. "I'll run interference while you figure it out." He launched himself at the akuma, staff providing the extra spring he needed. "Hey, Threadsmith! Don't you think it's time to _quilt_ while you're ahead?"

"You seem a little frayed at the edges," Threadsmith snarled. "Allow me to wrap that up for you."

"Running out of material? I can keep going all day," Adrien called, dodging the stream of ribbons. "You know, most cats like to chase the ball of yarn. This cat would rather get you pinned down as soon as possible."

The akuma snarled. "You're so funny, little cat."

"I'm glad you've _cotton_ so quickly!" Adrien landed on the top of the fountain, catching a glimpse of Ladybug a few metres away, gesturing frantically at the fountain with her torch. He wasn't sure what she meant, but at least she'd thought of something. He was starting to feel lightheaded- he couldn't keep this up much longer. Skintight black suits were great for fighting crime, but it was a hot day. He felt as if something heavy was pressing against his chest, making it difficult to breathe.

He watched Ladybug a little more closely; she was waving and pointing at him, torch forgotten for the moment. He realised a second too late that Threadsmith had directed another bundle of ribbons at him. No time to avoid them, he flung out his staff- and that was the mistake. The ribbons wrapped around it tightly, jerking him off balance as he leapt, slamming his head hard against the rim of the fountain. Normally, a hit like that wouldn't have bothered him, but in his current condition, it was the last straw. Vaguely aware that he was slumped in cold water, Adrien groaned quietly. It was cool against his skin, though, especially in this weather, and he was so tired, and his head hurt so much...

He could hear someone screaming- " _Chat Noir!"_ \- but he was unconscious before he could even begin to respond.


	3. Chapter 3

**_If you recognise it, it's not mine._**

* * *

 _"Chat Noir!"_

Marinette watched in horror as Chat collapsed into the fountain and didn't get up again, curled limply in the water like a sleeping child. "Threadsmith!" she shouted, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. The akuma was hovering in front of the fountain, finally in the perfect position for her plan. Marinette looked at the little torch in her hand and grinned as Threadsmith turned to look at her.

"There's a lot more to fashion than stealing other people's ideas!" she called, shining the torch at the water. The bright sunlight and the torchlight combined to give the water a dazzling sparkle, glinting straight into the akuma's eyes. Before he could blink to clear his vision, Marinette leapt forwards, grabbing his sketchbook and tearing it in half. As she released the little butterfly and threw the torch into the air after it, things went back to normal. People appeared all over the park, dazed and deribboned, and a young man appeared, crouched on all fours beside the fountain. He blinked, looking around him in confusion, and Marinette tossed his sketchbook at him. She didn't have time to find out what had happened; Chat was still in the fountain.

"Do you need any help?" It was Alya, sprinting over, phone still in hand. Marinette reached into the fountain, hauling Chat out by the shoulders.

"Don't film this," she said quickly. Chat was pale, too pale, and despite the cool water soaking him, he was burning hot. "He needs help. Can you go and find someone?"

Alya nodded, shoving her phone into her pocket and running off down the path.

"Chat," Marinette said, shaking him lightly. "Chat, can you hear me?" Her Miraculous beeped, and Marinette's heart started beating faster. "Chat Noir, wake up!"

She tapped his face lightly, and Chat groaned, stirring slightly in her arms. "L-lady..."

"Yeah, that's me. Come on, you're obviously ill, you need help. I'll take you-"

Chat shook his head. "You need to-" he gestured at her earrings, grimacing in pain.

"Chat, what's wrong?" He tried to stand up, scrabbling for his staff and using it as a crutch. Marinette helped him to his feet and noticed his forehead was grazed; he must have hit it on the side of the fountain.

"I'll go home," he muttered. "Not far. I'll be fine in a while. Just a bit- a bit..." He closed his eyes, and Marinette cursed as her Miraculous beeped again.

"I have to go," she said, hating herself for it. "Promise me you'll be alright?" Chat nodded, green eyes meeting hers with a sudden stab of familiarity.

Marinette watched him go- even like this, he was still faster than a normal person would be, and he had the sense to take the route through the shrubbery where nobody could see him- and sighed. She barely got out of the park before her own transformation fell away.

"I hope he's okay," she said. Tikki fluttered up to her shoulder, hiding behind her hair.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," she said. "He's Chat Noir. A little fall won't hurt him."

"I guess," Marinette said slowly. "I must just be a little on edge after what happened with Adrien earlier- Adrien! I still need to give him his bag back!"

She started to run, hoping the bag would still be where she'd left it. It was; she gave Tikki one of the macaroons before carrying on to Adrien's house. They'd just turned onto the street when Tikki gasped, pointing towards a crumpled shape on the pavement. Marinette squinted; she could make out blonde hair, a jacket on the ground beside the body. "Adrien?"

Her classmate was unconscious, again. There was a scrape on his forehead, which he must have got when he'd hit the ground. Marinette knelt down beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. "Adrien, can you hear me? What are you doing here?"

She heard running footsteps behind her, and Alya was there, talking at a thousand miles an hour between gasps for air. "Marinette, you're never going to believe this- Chat Noir got hurt during the fight, and I saw him unconscious in the fountain, and Ladybug sent me to go get help, and- _oh my god is that Adrien?"_

"Alya, help me get him up," Marinette said, slinging one of Adrien's arms over her shoulder. "He's too heavy for me to carry on my own, and we need to get him back inside. This heat can't be helping him at all."

"Right. Right, of course. Sorry." Alya ducked under Adrien's other arm, and the two girls began making their way down the street. "What's he doing out here anyway?"

"I don't know." Marinette frowned. "I was bringing back his bag- maybe he was going to look for it?"

"This boy has no common sense," Alya sighed as they arrived at the door.

Marinette pressed the intercom button, and winced as an irritated-sounding voice said, _"Hello?"_

"Um, hi," Marinette. "I'm a classmate of Adrien's?"

 _"Adrien is currently indisposed. All social calls are prohibited._ "

"Um, yeah. We've got Adrien," Alya said, nudging Marinette out of the way. "We were bringing his bag back- he left it behind when he fainted in the park earlier- and we found him."

 _"What do you mean, you found him?"_

"Unconscious on the pavement," Alya said. "I think you'd better let us in."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line, and then the gate creaked open. They got to the foot of the stairs before a woman Marinette recognised as Mr Agreste's personal assistant met them. "What happened?" she asked.

"We don't know," Marinette said, trying to not feel as if she was being told off. "We think he might have been going to look for his bag?" She held up the bag, and the woman took it, reaching for the box of macaroons curiously. "Um, they're macaroons. From my parent's bakery? It's a get-well-soon gift."

She didn't need Alya's pitying look to know she was blushing ladybug red, and she had never felt so relieved when the woman nodded to two men standing behind her, who moved forward to take Adrien from them.

"Adrien needs to rest right now," she said, a little more gently, "but I'm sure he'd be very grateful if you visited tomorrow. May I ask your names?"

"Tell him it's Marinette and Alya. He'll know us from school," Alya said.

"Thank you," the woman called after them as they began to walk away.

"They didn't even notice he was gone?" Alya asked once they'd got out of the gate. "Poor guy. Us visiting him tomorrow will probably be the best thing he gets."

"What?" Marinette was barely paying attention- she was too busy freaking out because _Adrien's arm had been around her neck, he'd been leaning on her shoulder, this can't be real, pinch me now._

Alya laughed. "Come on. This much drama in one day deserves some ice-cream. What do you say?"


	4. Chapter 4

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

"Marinette! Come _on_!" Alya was approximately three seconds away from grabbing her best friend and dragging her out of the house. "Anyone would think you didn't _want_ to see the love of your life."

"I don't know what to wear!" Marinette wailed from behind her closet door.

"Marinette, Adrien is ill and stuck in bed. If he's anything like he was yesterday, it'll be enough for him to recognise you're there at all. He really won't care what you're wearing." Alya sighed and marched back into Marinette's room. "Are you dressed?"

"Yes, but-"

"Good enough." Alya grabbed her arm and hauled her away. Marinette barely managed to grab her purse before they were waving goodbye to her parents and walking down the street.

"Do you think he got the macaroons?" she fretted, remembering the last time she'd tried to give Adrien a gift. "I mean-"

"Marinette, they were in a box with the bakery's logo on the front. I'm pretty sure he'll figure it out. Come on, I said we'd meet Nino two minutes ago."

"Nino?"

"He's the guy's best friend, Marinette, and Adrien's dad doesn't like him at all. I'm pretty sure Adrien never gets to see him outside of school. And you have to admit, he did pretty well yesterday. He phoned the ambulance and everything."

Marinette grinned, poking Alya in the side. "So I'm not the only spending a day with their crush?" she sing-songed, laughing as Alya blushed red.

"Please. I don't have _time_ for romance. My blog is a full-time job, remember, and then I've got to take care of you too!"

Marinette's purse giggled; luckily, Alya was too busy waving to Nino, who was waiting at the bus stop, to notice.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me," Nino said. "Mr Agreste's got some serious thing against me, but I'd hate to leave Adrien on his own when he's like this. Last time he was off school for nearly a week, and I don't think anyone talked to him the whole time except his dad's assistant."

"Last time?" Marinette asked as they sat down. "Do you mean this has happened before?"

Nino shrugged, worry clouding over his face. "Kind of, yeah. I mean, I'm assuming this is the usual thing, not something else-"

"The usual thing?" Alya demanded, so loudly the old man sitting in front of them jumped. "Oh, sorry."

"Well, you know Adrien. He's got this crazy schedule, what with modelling and fencing and school and everything. His dad puts a ton of pressure on him to be perfect at all that, and to keep getting better. Adrien's always staying up studying because he doesn't have any time to do it after school like a normal person. We sometimes have this deal where he'll sleep in class and I'll give him a copy of my notes afterwards, but since we've been having all these tests lately, and it's getting into summer fashion season, I don't think he's slept properly in weeks." Nino sighed. "I hate it, but I can't do anything about it."

Marinette bit her lip. She knew better than most people that balancing two lives, Marinette and Ladybug, was hard enough, but at least she usually got recognised for what she did. From what she'd seen of Adrien's dad, he barely acknowledged his son's existence, unless he'd somehow done something wrong. It wasn't fair, especially for someone as kind and gentle as Adrien.

"Exactly," Alya said, as Nino nodded empathically, and Marinette realised she'd said that last bit out loud. "He doesn't deserve this. Oh, look, this is our stop."

They stood outside Adrien's gate for several minutes, Marinette eying the intercom button as if it was suddenly going to grow fangs and bite her, until Alya sighed and pushed it for her. "Hi, we're Adrien's friends from school. We were asked to visit yesterday?"

 _"Yes, I remember. I'll have someone escort you to his room."_ Marinette squeaked- _she was going to be in Adrien's room_ \- but it was drowned out by the sound of the gates opening.

The woman they'd met the day before was waiting for them at the door. "Hello again," she said, smiling down at them. "I'm sorry we didn't get introduced properly yesterday. My name is Ms. Sancouer, and I'm Mr Agreste's personal assistant. If you'd follow me?" She led them up a flight of stairs, heels clicking on the cold marble. "Adrien will be very pleased to see you," she continued. "Mr Agreste isn't aware of your visit, as I doubt he'd approve, but I fear that Adrien gets rather lonely sometimes."

She paused outside a door, indistinguishable from any other on the empty hall, and knocked gently before opening it. "Adrien, you have some friends here to see you. I trust you are well enough to recieve them?"

"What? Yeah, of course. Who-" Adrien's voice trailed off as Ms. Sancouer pushed the door open, revealing the three teenagers clustered in the hall. "Nino? Marinette? Alya? What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to visit you, dude!" Nino said enthusiastically, walking into the room without a second thought. Marinette and Alya followed him a little more cautiously. Ms. Sancouer smiled and closed the door behind them.

"Surprise!" Alya added. "How are you feeling?"

Adrien was sitting up in bed, a science textbook lying open beside him on the covers. His hair was ruffled, and there was a small bandage over the graze on his forehead. Dark circles under his eyes only emphasised how tired he looked. "I'm alright," he said. "Just a bit..." He sighed, pushing his textbook aside.

Nino perched on the edge of the bed, resting a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Dude, you have got to start taking better care of yourself," he said, all trace of humour gone from his voice. "You can't keep doing this."

"I know," Adrien said quietly. "I know, Nino. I'll try. Soon."

Alya elbowed Marinette. "Go and give him a hug," she hissed.

"What? I can't!"

"Girl, I have never seen anyone who needs a hug more than that boy. He looks like a sad kitten. Go and hug him, now." She shoved Marinette in the back, sending her stumbling forwards. She tripped over Adrien's schoolbag, which had been discarded at the end of the bed, and almost faceplanted into the covers.

"Marinette?" Adrien sounded uncertain, but there was something in his voice which made Marinette look up, even though she could feel herself blushing. Their eyes met, green and blue, exhausted and panicked, and Marinette threw her arms around his shoulders without a second thought. Adrien stiffened, and then relaxed, slumping forward against her shoulders, his arms circling her back. He sighed; Marinette could feel his breath against her neck. It lasted several silent, beautiful seconds, and then Alya called "Group hug!", grabbing Nino and pulling them into the hug.

When they finally pulled apart, Alya and Nino high-fived quietly, while Marinette did her best not to hyperventilate. _She had just hugged Adrien Agreste, as in her crush Adrien Agreste, how could this be her life._ Adrien sat perfectly still for a moment, and when he raised his head again, he looked like he was about to cry.

"Oh, Adrien," Marinette breathed before she could stop herself, her heart clenching in her chest.

"Thank you," Adrien whispered. "I- I think I really needed that."

"We're going to sort this out," Alya said firmly, meeting each of their eyes in turn. "Adrien, you're going to start telling us when things are getting too much for you, okay, and we'll do what we can to help. Nino's going to keep doing what he's doing, because he's being a great friend from what I can tell, and I'll start arguing with people who keep trying to make you do stuff you don't want. Marinette will be there for hugs, and if you just want to talk, she's your girl. Believe me, she's the best at keeping secrets."

Marinette smiled. "I also have food," she said, reaching down to pick up the slightly battered box from the floor. "Macaroon, anyone?"


	5. Chapter 5

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Adrien was back at school the next Tuesday, but as soon as he walked into the room, he was surrounded by his classmates and their questions.

"Adrien! You're back!"

"What happened?"

"Is that a bandage on your head? What happened to you?"

"Did you get kidnapped?"

"Did Ladybug and Chat Noir save you?"

Adrien blinked in surprise, unsure who to answer first, and glanced at Nino. _Kidnapped?_ he mouthed at his friend, who loked as confused as to where the latest rumour had come from as he was. Just as Alya was preparing to stand up and yell at the class to give him some space, a different voice cut through the babble.

"Everyone _shut up_!" Chloe stood up and sauntered across the room to lean on Adrien's desk, smiling smugly up at him. "Adrien clearly doesn't want to talk about it, and certainly not to you lot. How about it, Adrikins? We can meet up after school, and you can tell me all about it."

Marinette's hands clenched into fists at her sides, but before she or anyone else could say anything, Adrien shrugged and shook his head. "Sorry, Chloe. I'm busy after school today. One of my modelling sessions got cancelled last week because of the akuma attack, and I need to get back on schedule."

Chloe pouted in disappointment as the door opened and Madam Bustier walked in, and any complaints she might have made were lost in the flurry of the class diving for their seats.

"Good morning, class," Madame Bustier said. "Good to see you back, Adrien. Before we start anything, I'd like to remind you that your group projects are due to presented on Wednesday, and no later. I'm going to just check who's in each group, to make sure nobody's been left out."

Adrien's eyes widened in panic- he didn't know anything about any project. Nino would probably have been put into a different group since he'd been off school, which meant he'd have to join another pair at the last minute. Judging by the way Chloe and Sabrina were smirking at him, he could guess which one that would be.

"And- Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien, is that right?"

"Yes, Miss," Alya said. "We're almost done, too."

"Excellent, Alya. I'll look forward to seeing your presentation tomorrow."

Adrien turned round in his seat as the teacher walked away. "I'm in your group?" he asked.

"Of course you are. We weren't going to leave you on your own, were we?" Nino said, poking him in the shoulder. "Marinette's got some notes for you, by the way. Her handwriting's _way_ neater than mine."

"Oh. Thanks," Adrien said, smiling at her as she handed him a few sheets of paper. Marinette blushed and stammered something about how her writing wasn't _that_ neat.

* * *

Once the class finished, they managed to get out of the room before Chloe or anyone else could latch on to them and start asking questions. Alya grabbed Adrien and Marinette by the wrists and dragged them down the corridor, Nino following meekly behind them.

"Um, Alya, what are you-" Marinette broke off with a squeak as Alya pulled them towards an empty bench away from the rest of the school.

"What do you mean, you have a modelling session tomorrow?" Alya demanded. "You need to rest, Adrien. I can't believe your schedule's already-"

Adrien laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not modelling tomorrow. Do you really think they'd let me into a photoshoot with this?" He gestured to the bandage on his forehead, and his face fell a little. "I'm pretty much useless to my father until I can get back to doing what he wants me to."

Alya sighed. "Do you have anything else on today?"

"Um, fencing, but there's a tournament, I need to-"

"You're not going to fencing. We're going to tell Mr What's-his-name that you're still recovering and need to rest, and then you're going to come round to Marinette's place with me and Nino."

"Can we have cookies?" Nino asked. "Marinette's parents make the best snacks."

Adrien smiled. "That- that sounds really fun," he said. "Will your parents be okay with it?"

"Of course. They love it when I have friends round."

They found Monsieur D'Argencourt after school, and the others watched as Adrien began a rapid conversation which involved a lot of sheepish looks on his part and a lot of dramatic gestures with the rapier on the teacher's part. Eventually he broke away and came back to them, grinning all over his face. "He said it was fine," he said blissfully. "He told me I was one of his best students, and the most important thing was that I was properly recovered in time for the tournament. I have a free afternoon!" He looked so happy, a part of Marinette wondered when the last time someone had told him he was good at something had been.

"Not quite free," Nino said. "You're coming with us, remember?"

As Marinette had predicted, her parents were delighted to see her friends. "Let's see, I know Alya, and I've met Adrien- ah, you must be Nino," her dad said, looking up from the customer he was serving. "Your mother's in the back, Marinette, she'll sort you out with whatever you need."

"Thanks, Dad. This way," Marinette added, weaving her way through the queue.

"Should we just go on up?" Alya suggested, pointing to the stairs. Marinette was about to nod, when the memory of her little Adrien shrine (which wasn't really a shrine, shut up, only Tikki called it that) hit her like a ton of bricks, and she gave a panicked yelp so high-pitched a cat somewhere outside yowled.

"No! Actually, Alya, you go on up. You guys can help me carry the food!" she said hurriedly, miming taking the pictures down as subtly as she could. Alya gave her a thumbs-up and headed towards her room. "The kitchen's through here," Marinette said, pushing the door open. "Mom, can we have some snacks?"

"Help yourself, sweetheart," Sabine called from behind a stack of cake boxes. "There's some biscuits on your left, and the pastries which didn't sell this morning should be in front of you. Have fun!"

Marinette shoved a couple of boxes of assorted biscuits at Nino and handed Adrien a tray of croissants, grabbing a handful of milkshakes out of the fridge before gesturing for them to follow her. Alya had left the trapdoor open, and was already sitting on the edge of Marinette's bed, peering at the half-stitched dress draped over her mannequin in admiration. "Hey, this is really nice," she said as Adrien scrambled up. "Is this the one you're making for your mom?"

"Yeah, it's for a party she's been invited to. She needed something which would match the theme."

"Did you make all this?" Adrien asked wonderingly, fingertips hesitantly reaching towards the soft material.

"Um, yeah. It isn't finished though. I still need to put the flowers on. The theme's like, a secret garden, so I'm going to put roses around the hem, and maybe some leaves along the skirt if I have time, and..." she realised she was rambling, and changed the subject abruptly. "Help yourselves to food!"

Nino whooped, diving for the croissants. Adrien followed him a little more demurely, and the four of them sat in a circle on Marinette's bedroom floor. Marinette glanced around her room nervously; Alya had done a good job with the pictures. There wasn't a photo of Adrien in sight- instead, she had the real thing sitting on her rug, wearing a milkshake moustache and looking at a croissant as if it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"I wish he'd look at me like that," she muttered without thinking. Tikki spluttered with laughter in her purse, but it was drowned out by Nino saying "what did you say, Marinette?"

"Oh, um... I said, shouldn't Adrien have a look at the project? We have to present it tomorrow, after all."

"Oh, yeah," Adrien said. "What's it even on, anyway?"

"We had to pick something that's been in the media a lot recently, and make a presentation on it which explained why," Nino said. "And since we're in a group with Alya, we ended up doing-"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Alya beamed, unrolling a large poster she'd somehow fitted into her school bag.

Adrien blinked in surprise. "Isn't that a little obvious?"

"Well, yes, but I run the Ladyblog, and I heard Chloe was doing the same topic. I couldn't let her destroy what could have been such a beautiful tribute- it would be sacrilege!"

Nino laughed and rolled his eyes. "Marinette, your best friend may be more than a little obsessive, but you have to admit she makes a good presentation. All we need to do is practise."

It took a while to get the presentation to an acceptable standard- this was partly because Marinette couldn't say a line after Adrien without either repeating what he'd just said or stammering intelligibly. Eventually Adrien's phone beeped three times in a row, and he looked at it with a sigh. "It's Nathalie," he said miserably. "She wants to know why I'm not waiting to be collected from fencing. I'd better go before she talks to Monsieur D'Argencourt and finds out I wasn't there at all."

"That's okay," Alya said. "We're going to do great tomorrow, anyway. We make a good team, huh?" She elbowed Marinette, who was watching Adrien pack away his stuff sadly.

"Uh- uh, I mean, yeah, we do!" she said quickly. "We should do this more often?"

"Totally!" Nino said, jumping up to follow Adrien. "Hey, dude, wait up! I'll walk you there!"

"No, that's okay," Adrien said as they waved goodbye to the Dupain-Chengs. "If I turn up with a friend she'll probably figure out what happened, and then she'll have to tell my dad, and I'd rather that didn't happen. Your house is in the opposite direction, anyway."

"Oh, okay, fair enough. See you tomorrow, then!"

"Bye, Nino," Adrien said, and started running towards the school. "You need to be more careful, Plagg," he scolded his kwami as he ran, weaving through pedestrians. "I heard you squawking in the bakery there, and I think Marinette might've too. They seem like really good friends, and I don't want to mess it up by having to explain what you're doing in my pocket."

Plagg scoffed. "Relax, Adrien," he said. "You'd be surprised at how easily I can pass for some weird toy, and anyway, Marinette- _ADRIEN_!"

Adrien looked up a second too late to see the car veering towards him.


	6. Chapter 6

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

"You know," Tikki said once Alya had left, "if you managed to persuade Alya and Nino to admit their feelings for one another, and then did the same thing with Adrien, you could probably pretend that was a double date."

"Oh, believe me, Tikki," Marinette said, flopping back on her bed, "I already am." She closed her eyes and smiled. "He said he wanted to do it again sometime, right? Do you think that means he'd want to meet up without Alya and Nino around? Maybe next time we have a group project Alya would go with Nino, so I could go with him, and then-"

Tikki laughed, flying down to bop her on the nose lightly. "I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Marinette. Stick to being a good friend to Adrien, and we can see how things go from there."

Marinette sighed. "He does need a friend at the moment, I think," she said. "I mean, other than Nino. Best friends are good, but you need more than that. Especially if he's going to start standing up to his dad more."

"I think you mean Alya's going to start standing up to his dad for him," Tikki said. "She seems pretty protective of him at the moment."

"She gets like that sometimes. I think that if I wasn't Ladybug and she didn't have the Ladyblog to run, she'd probably march up to Hawkmoth and take him down herself. She doesn't like sitting back and doing nothing in a situation she could be helping with." Marinette shook her head. "It's going to get her into trouble one of these days."

Tikki shrugged. "At least she'll have you there to get her out of it again," she said. "Marinette, saviour of Paris and Alya!"

Marinette laughed. "She rescues me way more than I save Paris," she said. "Can you imagine how bad it would have been if she hadn't been there to take all the pictures of Adrien off my wall? My life would be a disaster without her."

"Friends are good," Tikki said happily, wriggling between Marinette's shoulder and the bed. Marinette hummed in agreement, then her eyes opened as she though of something.

"Tikki, do you have any friends? Not just me," she added as the kwami opened her mouth. "I mean, other kwamis, or I don't know, previous Ladybugs?"

Tikki went quiet. "The last Ladybug was nearly eighty or ninety years ago, and that didn't end well. I haven't seen any other kwamis in a very long time, Marinette. Sometimes me and Plagg- that's the Chat Noir kwami- have had charges who know each other well enough that they feel comfortable telling each other who they really are, and then we can talk to each other, but for the most part we don't really see much of each other at all."

"Oh," Marinette said, sitting up and reaching out to cup Tikki in her hands. "Don't you get lonely?"

"Not really," Tikki said. "The time we spend without a Ladybug or whoever is just like we're taking a very long nap, and I love watching humans, so I don't mind not having anyone to talk to for most of the day. And you are my best friend, Marinette. Don't worry about me, honestly. It's not like I could change anything, even if I wanted to."

Marinette frowned. "Well, if Chat and I ever end up sharing our identities, you'll be the first to know," she said. "Anyway, I'd better get on with mom's dress. There's only a few days left before the party."

* * *

"Marinette!" Something was whispering in her ear, the words interspersed by a steady beeping sound. "Marinette, wake up, you're going to be late!"

Marinette fell out of bed, barely managing to check the time as she reached for her clothes. "Oh no! We've got the presentation first thing, too!" She scrambled through her morning routine, and Tikki was still bobbing after her with her hair ties as she sprinted through the bakery, grabbing a croissant on her way through. "Thanks, Tikki," she said once they were out on the street, taking the ties from the kwami before she hid away in her purse. "I'll need to run if I'm going to be there on time, though."

She made it into the room halfway through her name being called in registration, managed to get to her seat without falling, and gasped "present" before she noticed the seat in front of her was empty.

"Hey, where's Adrien?" she asked Alya, prodding her in the arm.

"I don't know," Alya said. "Nobody's seen him all morning. Should we be worried?"

"It's not like Adrien to miss something like this," Nino chipped in, turning round in his seat. "I mean, I know the dude's not the best at being on time, but he wouldn't want to let us all down on the presentation."

Marinette frowned, but Chloe interrupted them before she could say anything. "Are you talking about Adrien?" she simpered, smirking at them from across the room. "I suppose you don't know. Unsurprising really, considering his _closest_ friend is yours truly."

"Go on then, tell us," Marinette said, in no mood to deal with her games today. "Where's Adrien?"

"Adrikins is in the hospital," Chloe said, loud enough for the rest of the class to hear. "He got hit by a car yesterday afternoon."

"What?" Nino stood up, and he wasn't the only one in the class to do so. "Is he okay?"

"Of course not, he's in the hospital, idiot," Chloe snapped. "Look, I don't know. The only reason I know anything is because-"

"Yeah, yeah, because your dad's the mayor," Alya muttered.

"Actually, I know because I was contacted _specifically_ by Adrien's father, or at least by his assistant. Apparently he was asking for his friend, so clearly I was the one they called. I'm going to visit him after school today."

Marinette and Alya exchanged glances as Madame Bustier tried to calm the class down so she could begin the lesson. "A visit from Chloe?" Alya muttered, casting a dark look at the blonde. "That's enough to put anyone into hospital in the first place."

"Poor Adrien," Marinette said. "He really doesn't need this right now."

Nino shook his head, turning round. "We can't do our presentation, either," he said. "I mean, we could, but..." He glanced at the empty seat beside him, adjusting his headphones around his neck. "I think Adrien really liked, you know, being part of our group, even if it was just for a little bit. It wouldn't be fair to go ahead and finish it all without him."

"That's understandable, Nino," Madame Bustier said, evidently overhearing him. "If Adrien's back before the end of the week, you can do it then, but if it turns out he's going to be off any longer, I suggest you rework your presentation for three people. We need to move on with the course- and that's why we're going to start the rest of the projects today. Nathanael, Rose and Juleka, you three are up first."

Marinette could barely focus for the rest of the lesson; she was too busy worrying. Alya had to keep prodding her so she'd applaud as each group finished. By the time the bell rang, Alya almost had to pull her out of her chair. "Marinette, there's no point stressing about it right now," she said. "There's no way they'll let us in to see him-"

"We don't even know how badly he's hurt," Nino chipped in. "They might not even let Chloe in, if he's really bad."

Marinette gasped, eyes widening, and Alya sent Nino a swift glare. "Chloe's been invited, you idiot," she said. "They wouldn't do that unless he was able to see her. But knowing Chloe, she won't tell anyone about it unless she can get something out of it, which she will, because she knows everyone cares about Adrien." She sighed and glanced at her friend, who was pacing back and forth along the corridor, frowning in concentration. "And knowing Marinette, she's going to come up with a bad plan to get into the hospital right about..."

Marinette looked up suddenly, eyes glinting. "What if we follow Chloe to the hospital, and then go in a minute after her? We could say we're with her, and we just turned up a bit late? They might believe us."

Alya placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "Girl, that's a good idea, but what's Chloe going to do if we turn up at the same time as her? She'd lose it for sure."

"I guess," Marinette said sadly, leaning against the wall. "I just wish there was something we could do."

"You know what I think?" Nino said, looking between Marinette and Alya challengingly. "I don't think Adrien asked for Chloe. I think he asked for us, or at least one of us, but his father or whoever dealt with it must have misunderstood when he asked for a friend. I guess the friend Adrien's household knows best is Chloe, so that's who they called." He shook his head in disgust, then looked at them hopefully. "They'll listen to him soon. They'll have to."

"I hope you're right, Nino," Alya said. Marinette nodded, but she'd stopped paying attention several minutes ago. A new idea had struck her- one which she couldn't suggest to Alya or Nino.

She couldn't get into the hospital without permission, and neither could Alya or Nino- but Ladybug could.


	7. Chapter 7

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

"Marinette, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tikki hovered anxiously in front of her, a frown creasing her tiny face. "Remember what happened last time you tried to use Ladybug's powers for yourself?"

"Tikki, this isn't for me, it's for Adrien," Marinette said patiently, spinning in her desk chair. "I know it isn't the best use, but I've got to do something for him."

"I know, Marinette, but-" Tikki sighed. "I know you're trying to do something good, but what if you get in trouble?"

"I'm Ladybug, remember? They're not going to arrest Ladybug for visiting a kid stuck in hospital."

Tikki paused. "You're not going to see him as yourself?"

There was a silence as Marinette stared at the class photo on her bookshelf, the only picture of Adrien left in sight. "I can talk to him as Ladybug," she said quietly. "It's better he gets visited by a hero who can have an actual conversation with him than some stammering mess from school."

"Oh, Marinette..." Tikki brushed against her cheek gently. "You're not a mess. And you did just fine at talking to him yesterday, and when he was ill!"

"When he was ill, and when Alya and Nino were there too. Tikki, please. I don't want to mess things up. It won't be long, I promise." Tikki hesitated, then nodded. Marinette jumped out of her chair. "Tikki, spots-"

She was cut off by a faint scream from outside. Almost simultaneously, a text pinged in on her phone from Alya. _AKUMA ALERT!_

"No, no, no, no, no," Marinette muttered. "Not now, _please_?"

There was another scream, and a crash. The ground shook slightly. Marinette debated asking Tikki if she could let Chat take care of it for once, but she already knew the answer to that. "Spots on!"

* * *

The akuma was weirder than Marinette had expected- a woman dressed as a giant traffic light, wielding what looked an awful lot like a book of parking tickets. "Are you... a traffic warden?" she asked warily, dropping down in front of her.

"I am Redlight!" the akuma yelled. She waved at a row of parked cars, and they vanished one by one in a cloud of coloured sparks. "And there has been enough dangerous driving in this city!"

"Well, you're not wrong," Marinette muttered, thinking of Adrien. "Are you actually doing something bad here, or is this some sort of badly planned public service?" There was a screeching of brakes, and Redlight wheeled round to see a man sitting in his car behind her, hands gripping the steering wheel as he stared in terror. "Get out of the car!" Marinette cried, but it was too late- the car was gone, taking the driver with it. "Okay, not a public service, then."

Marinette looked around her- the street was empty of cars, but Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen, and Redlight was drifting towards the rest of the city. "No time to wait for stray cats," she said, swinging after her.

She caught up with her at a busy intersection; half of the road had already been cleared by the akuma's powers, and the other half was full of panicked drivers trying to get out of the way. If she didn't do something fast, there was going to be a serious accident.

"Having fun?" she asked, landing neatly on the nearest streetlight. "Hate to interrupt you, but I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Speeding is no longer allowed in this city!" Redlight snapped, whirling around to face her.

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it already kind of illegal?" she asked, and while the akuma frowned in confusion (seriously, what did Hawkmoth do to these people), she flung out her yoyo, catching the akuma around the waist and jerking her to the ground. "I'll need to take this, if you don't mind," she said, reaching for the book of parking tickets.

She tore it in half and tossed the pieces to the ground, and nothing happened. She stared at them in disbelief. "What?"

"Wrong guess, little bug,"" the akuma laughed, wriggling free while she was distracted. "Now, if you don't mind, I have some rules to enforce."

Marinette sighed, and glanced around the street again- the cars were mostly empty, the civilians running to safety, but there was still no sign of her partner. "Where is that silly kitty?" she muttered. "I could really use his help here."

Despite the costume and the motive, the akuma was surprisingly difficult to beat. Marinette was flung into the same window three times before she had the space to use her Lucky Charm, and it took another two hits before she figured out that the little bouncy ball would set off the alarm on the nearest car if she threw it hard enough, apparently distracting the akuma long enough for her to tie it up and grab the little locket round its neck.

Eventually, as the purified akuma flew away, she was left holding an open locket with a photo of a young man in the front. The woman who'd been akumatised was almost crying as she took it, meeting Marinette's eyes with a startling guilt. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, before running away down the street. Marinette was about to go after her when her earrings beeped. She cursed, leaping into the air and heading back to her own apartment to transform in peace, but the akuma had moved further than she realised. Earrings beeping insistently, she didn't quite make it; Ladybug disappeared midair, and Marinette fell heavily onto the balcony, narrowly missing the table and landing awkwardly on her arm.

Sometimes, she really hated her job.

"Marinette!" Tikki fluttered up in front of her anxiously,

"Ugh," Marinette muttered, lifting her face off the ground.

"Marinette? Are you okay? We heard a crash." Her mother opened the window in the roof and gasped, hurrying over. Tikki dived for cover in the nearest flowerpot. "Tom!"

"I fell," Marinette mumbled as she sat up slowly. "I tripped over and fell."

"Oh dear," Sabine said as her husband peered out at the roof. "Are you hurt?"

"My- my arm hurts." Marinette felt like crying. She couldn't sneak off to see Adrien with her parents hovering like this.

"Do you need the hospital?" her father asked. "The bakery's almost ready to close anyway, we could take you right now."

Marinette blinked in surprise. "My head hurts too," she said quickly. "And I feel kind of dizzy?"

"I think the hospital would be a good idea," Sabine said, looking at Tom worriedly.

* * *

The doctor who saw her was nice enough- he gave her a cookie, which, although it was nowhere near as good as the bakery's ones, was more than enough to make Tikki happy once Marinette managed to slip it into her bag, and he told her that she'd managed to get away with nothing worse than a sprained wrist. "You must be a very lucky girl," he said, as Marinette got up to leave.

Her parents were still filling out a few forms, and her mother glanced up at her before she could reach the door. "Where are you going?"

"Um... toilet? I think I saw one along that way," Marinette said quickly, pointing in a random direction. Her parents nodded, apparently satisfied with that excuse. Marinette closed the door behind her and started to wander along the corridor, trying to look as if she knew what she was doing.

"Where am I going to find Adrien?" she asked Tikki as soon as she thought she was out of earshot.

"I don't know," Tikki said anxiously. "Maybe you should ask where the children's ward is? He might be around there somewhere."

"That's a good idea," Marinette said. "Is that a map over there?"

It was- apparently the children's ward was on the next floor up. "Come on, Tikki."

They got to the end of the corridor before Tikki noticed a door with a _private: no entry_ sign stuck to it, and nudged Marinette towards it. Marinette crept up and peered through the frosted glass set into the door; amid the fuzzy blues and whites of the hospital room, she could make out the distinctive black and red of Nathalie's typical outfit. "I think this must be the right place," she whispered to Tikki. "I can come back tomorrow as Ladybug, can't I?"

Tikki laughed. "After all this, I'd be disappointed if you didn't," she said.

Marinette smiled. "Come on, we'd better get back before Mom and Dad start wondering where I am," she said. Just then, the door opened. Tikki dived back into her purse, and Marinette flattened herself against the wall, hoping the PA wouldn't see her. It didn't work. Nathalie peered through her glasses at her before giving her a cold smile. Marinette grinned sheepishly up at her. "Um, hi," she squeaked. "I'm, um, kind of lost?"


	8. Chapter 8

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Adrien had to stop himself from groaning when he heard voices outside his door. Chloe had refused to leave, no matter how much he hinted, and he was tired. He hadn't seen his father since the accident, although he'd apparently visited earlier this morning, while he was still asleep. Adrien wasn't sure if he was glad of that or not. He'd been less standoffish than usual lately; still nothing like a real parent, but there was a hovering edge about him, almost as if he was waiting for something. It was like a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes- he cared, but it didn't seem as sincere as it could be.

The door opened, and he looked up with a sigh, only to meet a familiar pair of blue eyes.

"Marinette?" Adrien couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "What are you doing here?"

Marinette stammered something that was probably a greeting and waved at him, cheeks blushing pink. Adrien noticed a bandage wrapped around her wrist, just like the one on his. "What happened?" he asked, pointing with his good hand.

"I fell," Marinette said quickly. "Sprained my wrist. Clumsy of me, huh?"

Adrien smiled. "Same," he said, lifting his own arm.

Marinette's nervous grin faded quickly, and she edged a little closer to his bed. "That isn't all, though," she said quietly. "What happened to you, Adrien?"

"I got hit by a car," Adrien said, a twinge of guilt hitting him when he saw her flinch at the words. "Broken leg, sprained wrist, concussion, and my ribs hurt. Or at least they did until I got given pain stuff. That helped a lot. I'm fine, Marinette, really."

Marinette shook her head, looking down at the ground. "I'm so sorry, Adrien," she whispered. "This is all my fault."

Adrien blinked at her. "No it's not," he said, confused. "You gave me food and we did school stuff with Alya and Nino. It's the driver's fault, if anyone's." A sudden thought struck him, and he grinned at her. "Hey, how did the presentation go? I'm really sorry that I missed it, but I'm sure you guys did great."

"Actually, we were allowed to postpone it," Marinette said, perking up a little. "You know, in case you're back at school in a few days, or something."

Adrien looked at Nathalie hopefully; his father's PA shook her head, frowning a little. Marinette caught the movement, and her face fell. "I mean, your recovery's obviously more important," she said quickly. "Don't you dare come in just for a project. We'd just send you straight back home again."

A part of Adrien was touched by the sentiment, but most of him was just disappointed and frustrated and so, so tired. He looked down at his hands, plucking at the bedsheets to to stop himself from crying like a little kid.

"You might be able to go home tomorrow morning, Adrien," Nathalie said, in the same tone she always used when she knew he was upset but didn't know how to fix it. "They're just keeping you in for another night of observation."

"I know," he muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on the covers. He really was tired, and he was pretty sure the painkillers he'd been given were messing with his head.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked. "I mean, aside from..." she gestured to his general appearance in a twitching little gesture. She'd moved closer to the bed without him noticing, perching on the edge of the chair anxiously. She didn't lean into his personal space the way Chloe did; didn't ruffle his hair and call him 'Adrikins', didn't take endless selfies to post on Snapchat, didn't treat him like he was a child, a toy to be played with. Instead, her fingers fidgeted with the strap of her bag the same way his twisted in the bedsheets, her bad wrist resting on her knees, and she was looking at him with an almost fearful expression. "Adrien?"

Adrien nodded, sleep pulling at his eyes like a heavy weight. "Y-yeah?" His voice trembled a little, and he hated himself for it.

Marinette coughed nervously. "I need to go soon, otherwise my parents are going to start looking for me, but... um, would you like a hug?" The last few words were barely audible, caught in a lowered head and flushing cheeks, but Adrien heard them.

He looked at her, something plucking at his heart that he hadn't felt in a long time, a desperate, childlike longing, and reached out to touch her anxiously tapping fingers. "I'd really like a hug," he whispered, letting all of the hurt and exhaustion from the past few days seep into his tone.

She nodded, leaning awkwardly across the bedframe, her purse bumping against the edge of the chair, and wrapped her arms around him tentatively, gently. He let his head fall, his cheek resting against her shoulder, hiding his face in her hair.

Then it was over.

She pulled away and stood up, saying her goodbyes as he slumped into the pillow behind him, tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. "I think I'll sleep now, Nathalie," he said softly. His father's assistant nodded, reaching for her bag. She paused by the door.

"Goodnight, Adrien," she said, eyes unreadable behind the glasses.

"'Night, Nathalie." The lights went out with a soft click. Adrien closed his eyes, picking at the soft hospital fabric, and tried to ignore the feeling of tears on his face.

Plagg wriggled out from his hiding place behind the pillow, sighing at the achingly sad expression on the boy's face as he hovered in front of him. "Oh, man," he whispered. "Adrien, speak to me. What's up?"

Adrien mumbled something indistinct, and Plagg edged a little closer, dabbing at a tear about to fall off his nose. "Adrien?" He nuzzled closer, until he could feel soft hair brushing against his head. "Adrien, you've gotta talk to me here."

There was a silence, and then Adrien started to cry. Proper crying, shoulders shaking, breath juddering out of lips clenched shut to stop the sound of sobs.

"Adrien, what's wrong? Does anything hurt?" Adrien shook his head, eyes still shut tight.

"My dad," he gasped, the words harsh and raw. "I- I don't know..." He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes. "I- I feel like he's been waiting for something, and I don't even know what it is or why, but I feel like he's been waiting for something to happen, and- and..." His voice shook, a tear splashing onto Plagg's tail.

"You think this is it?" he asked softly, hovering several inches away from Adrien's face. Adrien nodded. "Oh, man," Plagg muttered again. "Oh, Adrien. Don't worry."

"But- but- what if he finds out about... about me being Chat Noir, and about Ladybug, and about... and what if he takes me out of school, or-" his words were jumbled together, worn ragged by the sobs spilling out of him. "I don't- I don't know- I don't know what to do, Plagg." His chest was heaving under the covers, eyes wide and tortured, shining green in the dim room.

Plagg closed his eyes for a second. Words had never been his strong point, especially not kind ones. "It'll be okay in the end, Adrien," he promised. "You'll see. It'll all be okay in the end."

There was a moment of silence, a long, exhausted sigh, and then Adrien's hand, the one without the bandage, crept out from under the blanket, palm-up, fingers curved to form a little cup shape. Plagg looked at it, then at Adrien's painfully lonely expression, and sighed. "Just this once," he murmured, settling down in the soft palm and curling up. "Go to sleep, Adrien," he added, looking up to see the boy still watching him, that strange, sad look still in his eyes. "Go to sleep."


	9. Chapter 9

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Marinette barely made it two steps into the classroom before Alya grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to her seat. "Marinette! Marinette, there was an akuma attack yesterday evening, and Ladybug dealt with it, but Chat Noir never showed up, and- oh my god, what happened to your hand?"

"I fell," Marinette said, slumping into her seat with a sigh. "It's just a sprain, though."

"Oh dear, Marinette," Chloe called across the room. "You're so clumsy, it's a miracle you can even get to school on time! Oh, wait- you can't."

Marinette rolled her eyes, and turned back to Alya. "Anyway, while I was at the hospital, I got lost, and accidentally found Adrien's room."

"You found Adrien?" Nino said, turning round in his seat, eyes wide. "How was he?"

Marinette shrugged, the memory of Adrien's sad eyes haunting her. "I don't know," she sighed. "He seemed cheerful enough about his injuries- it's nothing really serious, by the way. I think the worst of it's a broken leg. But he seemed really upset. I think something's going on with him."

"I blame his dad," Alya said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Seconded," Nino added.

Marinette shook her head. "It wouldn't surprise me," she said. "But we can't jump to conclusions. Not with something like this. We might end up making things worse."

Her friends nodded, but before they could say anything else, Madame Bustier clapped her hands, drawing the class to attention. "Good morning, everyone," she said. "Today we're going to be carrying on with our presentations- you all did very well yesterday, so I hope to see some of the same standards today. Alya, Marinette, Nino, I've been told that Adrien isn't likely to be well enough to return to school for a while, so I'll give you the weekend to rework your presentation, and you can do it on Monday, okay?"

Alya nodded; Marinette had barely heard the question.

"Chloe and Sabrina, you two can start us off."

"Oh, girl," Alya whispered to her friend as the pair got up, Chloe with an exasperated hair flick, Sabrina struggling to carry an oversized presentation board. "You really care about this, don't you?"

Marinette jumped. "What?"

"Adrien, duh. You want to make sure he's okay." Marinette could feel the blush on her face, and Alya laughed. "Don't worry about it," she said. "We all know he needs it, and it's kinda sweet."

Even Chloe's frankly insulting presentation on Ladybug and her work couldn't wipe the smile off Marinette's face after that.

* * *

In retrospect, there was probably a better way to do this than balancing on Adrien's windowsill.

"Adrien," Marinette whispered, tapping on the window. It was lucky Adrien's bedroom was at the back of the house; she wasn't sure how the public might have reacted if they'd spotted Ladybug hanging around outside someone's house. There was a convenient tree she was pretty sure would hide her from walking by, but she didn't want to take chances. "Adrien!" She knew he was in there; she could see him at the far end of the room, his back to her and wearing a pair of headphones. He obviously couldn't hear her. "Oh, for god's sake." She could already feel the strain of holding on with one hand- Tikki had only agreed to let her transform if she was careful not to damage her wrist any further. It wasn't like the kwami could stop Marinette from calling the transformation if she wanted to, but Marinette knew that Tikki was normally right, so she'd listened.

She looked up; the window to the right of Adrien's room was ajar. If she could pull it a little more, it might open wide enough for her to slip in. Marinette edged across to the second windowsill- this one was in full sunlight, a bright glare reflecting off the glass, and it wasn't until she landed on a surprisingly cool tiled floor that she realised she was standing in Adrien Agreste's ensuite bathroom.

In restrospect, she probably should have remembered that.

She pushed open the door and slipped into the room; Adrien evidently noticed something in his peripheral vision, because he turned round in his swivel chair awkwardly, and nearly fell out when he saw her standing there.

"Hi," Marinette said, letting a little of Ladybug's confidence seep into her tone.

"You're- in my room," Adrien said. This was the most lost for words Marinette had ever seen him.

"Um, yeah. Window. Sorry."

"No, no- no. Um, this is cool. Just..." He twisted round in his chair and hit a button on his computer keyboard, making the screen go black. "Um... can I help you?"

Marinette shrugged. "A friend of mine mentioned you were having a pretty rough time of it. I thought you might like a visit?"

Adrien appeared to have recovered his composure, because he smiled at her, grabbing a pair of crutches from where they were leaning against a nearby shelf. He made his way over to the couch at the side of the room and sat down slowly- Marinette didn't miss the wince. "That's really kind of you," he said. "I mean, you're Ladybug. Don't you have better things to do?"

"No!" Marinette said too quickly. "I mean, if Paris was getting attacked right this second, then yeah, I'd probably have to go, but right now I'm free. Yay?"

"Yay," Adrien agreed. "So, how's it going?"

"Oh, pretty good," Marinette said. "Better than it is for you, I'm guessing?"

Adrien laughed wryly. He looked a lot better than he had in the hospital, a pair of what looked like Batman pyjama bottoms stretched over his cast, his head poking out of a ridiculously oversized hoodie. His hair was a mess, and Marinette had to fight the urge to smooth it out for him. "Yeah, you could say that," he said. "I got hit by a car, I don't suppose you'll have heard? Just the other afternoon."

Marinette did her best to look shocked. "That's some pretty bad luck," she said. "I was actually dealing with an akuma round about then-"

" _What?_ " Adrien almost looked panicked, eyes widening under the mop of hair draped over his forehead. "An akuma?"

"Yeah, someone calling themselves Redlight. I don't know where these names are coming from." Marinette shook her head, laughing a little.

"Did it go okay?" Adrien asked. He looked oddly concerned.

"Yeah, it was fine," Marinette reassured him. "Just another day on the job."

Adrien nodded, but he didn't look entirely convinced. "Um, I'm afraid I'm not going to be very interesting," he said after a second. "I can't really walk, and my wrist's messed up, and my ribs kind of are too."

"That's fine," Marinette said. "I can leave if you want; I just thought you might like the company."

Adrien nodded. "Please don't leave," he said quickly. "Um... we could watch a movie? Or something?"

They ended up watching a show Adrien thought she might like, after agreeing that they probably didn't have time for an entire movie. "I'm watching TV with Ladybug," Adrien muttered as they began the second episode. "This is so... so surreal."

Marinette laughed, but before she could answer, there was a tapping on the door. "Adrien? Are you awake?"

"That's Nathalie," Adrien hissed, his eyes wide and panicked. "You'd better hide, she's my father's assistant, I don't know how she'd react to a superhero in my bedroom." Raising his voice as Marinette ducked behind the couch they were sitting on, he called, "Yeah, I'm awake. What is it, Nathalie?"

The door opened, and Nathalie's voice said, "Adrien, your father wants to speak to you. He'll be up in about ten minutes, if you want to make yourself look a little more presentable." The door closed with a sharp click, Adrien sighed heavily, and Marinette edged out from behind the couch.

"I'm guessing that's my cue to leave, then?" she said quietly, taking in the worried look that had appeared on Adrien's face.

"Yeah, I guess. I'm really sorry. My dad... he can be kind of overbearing. I don't think he'd approve of this. If he's coming to speak with me, it can only bad news anyway. No point making it worse. I- I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Marinette said. "I should probably get home soon, anyway. It was nice to hang out with you, though."

Adrien nodded so fast his hood flipped up, covering his eyes, but not the blush on his cheeks. "Um, yeah. You too. Thanks for visiting, I..." he looked at the ground, twisting at the bandage wrapped around his hand. "I really appreciate it. Really."

"It's nothing," Marinette said, opening his bedroom window from the inside. "Good luck with your dad." She waved, swung away, and waited until she was several streets away from the house before detransforming. Tikki hovered in front of her, peering at her wrist worriedly. Marinette pushed her away gently, cupping her in her hands.

"You shouldn't do that again," Tikki said. "You want that to heal as quickly as possible, remember?"

"I know, Tikki," Marinette said. "It was worth it, though."

* * *

The next day was a Friday. The scorching heat from the rest of the week had finally stopped, and it was raining heavily as Marinette and Alya scurried for safety, huddled together under Alya's umbrella. "If I didn't know better, I'd guess this was a weather akuma," Alya grumbled, attempting to dry her glasses enough to see out of them. Marinette was too busy wringing out her pigtails to comment.

Suddenly, they could hear a voice shouting across the playground, footsteps pelting across the tarmac. "Is that Nino?" Alya asked, squinting through the rain.

"Marinette! Alya!"

"Nino, what are you- you're soaking! Get under here!" It was impossible to fit three people under the umbrella, and Alya sighed before dragging them all into the nearest hallway. They stood and dripped and waited for Nino to catch his breath.

"Guys, we have a problem," he said. "A really big problem."

"What is it?" Alya demanded, at the same time as Marinette said "Adrien?" with a sinking feeling in her chest.

"Adrien," Nino said, nodding to Marinette. "He called me last night- he's at home again now, by the way- his dad had come and had this major talk with him, and he was really upset. Like, he couldn't speak half the time. I'm really worried, guys. I couldn't get him to calm down, and-"

Marinette interrupted him, heart pounding against her skin. "Do you know what he was upset about? Nino, what did his dad say to him?"

"That's our problem," Nino said, eyes huge behind his huge glasses. "His dad's pulling him out of school."

Alya screeched, _"WHAT?"_ so loudly it echoed down the hall. Marinette felt like someone had pulled a rug out from under her. She almost didn't recognise her own voice when she spoke- it sounded far too calm for the pit that had opened up in her stomach. "His dad's pulling him out?"

Nino nodded. Drops of water fell off the brim of his hat and hit the ground at their feet. "Permanently."

"Oh my god," Alya whispered. "No wonder he was upset."

Nino nodded again, taking his hat off altogether. His hair was sticking up slightly underneath; it made him look younger, more anxious. "I've never seen him like that before," he said. "I- I don't think anyone has."

Marinette shook her head, and started walking down the corridor. "Come on," she said. Alya and Nino exchanged a confused glance and followed her.

"Girl, I know you care, but I'm not sure we can-"

Marinette stopped, turning to face them. "We're going to fix this," she said, putting as much Ladybug as she dared into the words. "Aren't we?"

Alya opened her mouth, then closed it again, taking in the look in Marinette's eyes, the fierce determination spilling out, infecting them too. She nodded, stepping up to stand beside Marinette, reaching for her phone. Nino put his hat back on and joined them.

"Yes," he said, and then again, louder. "Yes, we are."


	10. Chapter 10

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

"Marinette, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Marinette had a feeling she heard that phrase far too often, but she turned to look at Alya pleadingly anyway. "No," she admitted, scanning the scattered pages of notes in despair, "but it's the only one I've got, and I really need you guys to help if there's going to be any chance of it working."

She could feel tears building in the back of her throat, but she willed herself to keep looking at her best friend.

"Oh man," Nino groaned from where he was sprawled on her bedroom floor. "Alya, she's using the puppy eyes. Don't make her use the puppy eyes. They make me feel like... like I just kicked a puppy."

"Gracefully put, Nino," Alya muttered, turning away to poke him in the side with her foot. Nino yelped and squirmed away.

"Hey, it's ten in the morning. On a _Saturday._ You can't expect me to have good comebacks this early."

"You never have good comebacks," Alya said. Nino rolled over and sat up, adjusting his glasses indignantly.

"Guys," Marinette said, raising her voice above the building squabble, "can you please tell me if you're up for this or not?"

Both her friends paused.

"It's risky," Alya said. "There's a lot of things that could go wrong."

"And it kind of relies on people caring," Nino added.

There was a silence, and then, "Say that again," whispered Alya after a second, grabbing for a sheet of notes.

Nino blinked. "Um... it kind of relies on people caring? I mean, not that they don't. Everyone-"

"Everyone cares," Alya interrupted. " _Everyone cares._ Marinette, you're a genius."

"She is?" Nino asked, taking of his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. "Mari, I know you're smart and all, but nothing you say is going to make any sense until I get some coffee."

"So you're in?" Marinette asked Alya, crossing her fingers behind her back.

"Totally," Alya said. "You're right- this is going to need all the help you can get. Nino?"

Nino shrugged. "If she's in, I'm in," he said.

Marinette grinned. "Then coffee's on the house."

* * *

"Okay," Alya said. "So, in the next two days, we need to rewrite our presentation, arrange a meeting with Gabriel Agreste, and organise a protest in our classroom without failing the assignment."

"Pretty much," Marinette agreed. "Can you sort out the meeting? Here's the number- you're better on the phone than either of us. Nino, can you figure out how to get a video call going in the classroom?"

"Probably," Nino said around a mouthful of croissant.

Marinette beamed. "Great. I'll make a start on the presentation."

Alya took a deep breath and typed the number into her phone. "Hi, is that Nathalie Sancoeur? Good morning, my name's Maria Martin. I'm an intern at Collège Françoise Dupont, and I've been asked to arrange a video conference between Mr Agreste and a class in the school next Monday morning. I know it's short notice, but would that be at all possible?"

Alya sounded professional, and Marinette gave her an encouraging thumbs-up. There was a short burst of chatter on the other end of the line, and Alya's face fell.

"What is it?" Marinette hissed. "If he's busy, we might be able to stall Madame Bustier for a couple more days-"

Alya flapped a hand at her to be quiet. "Yes, Ms. Sancoeur," she said more quietly, the formal tone gone from her voice, but the confidence still there. "My name is Alya Césaire. I'm a friend of Adrien's."

Nino choked on his pastry. "Marinette, she's blowing our cover," he muttered. "Should we do something?"

Marinette shushed him. "Alya knows what she's doing," she whispered back, though she wasn't quite sure it was true.

"I know," her friend was saying, a pleading note in her voice. "Believe me, we all know." There was a pause, and she nodded. "Okay. Thank you. I'm sorry for interrupting you. Goodbye."

She set the phone down and turned to Marinette with a heavy sigh.

"Alya?" Nino asked hesitantly, scooting closer. "Hey, what just happened?"

"She recognised my voice and guessed it was something to do with Adrien," Alya said. "She asked if I wanted to speak with him about it- I said no."

"What? Why?" Nino frowned, folding his arms. "We could've spoken to him properly, asked him what he thought. Why'd you say no?"

"Because imagine what it would be like for him if he knew we what we were trying to do, and it didn't work, Nino," Alya snapped. "I don't want to get his hopes up. He's had enough taken away from him already."

"Okay," Marinette said, interrupting before her friends could start arguing. "Alya, what else did she say?"

Alya shrugged. She was sitting on Marinette's desk chair, swiveling back and forth absently as she thought. "No a lot, really. I think she's on our side, though. She didn't actually say that, but she asked if we were worried about Adrien, and she kind of sounded like she was. I think things over there are a lot more complicated than Adrien just being taken out of school, guys."

"Adrien was crying when he called me the other night," Nino cut in. "I told you that. He doesn't like people knowing how messed up his life is, but this isn't okay."

Marinette shook her head."It's not. It's really not." She swallowed, and turned back to her notes. "So Mr Agreste is out. That's fine. We can still yell at everyone else, right?"

* * *

By Sunday afternoon, they had their presentation smoothly rehearsed; they had it memorised, hand gestures and all. All that was missing was an audience. Marinette did debate the possibilities of asking her parents or Manon to watch them, but considering they weren't the desired audience, it seemed a little awkward.

"You know, I've been thinking," Nino said as they were all sitting on the balcony outside Marinette's room. "I know you said that stuff about not getting Adrien's hopes up, and I totally understand that- but someone's going to tell Adrien about this, whether it works or not. And this is going to be really hard to explain."

Marinette frowned. "I guess," she said. "Especially if it doesn't work."

"Well, I was thinking, maybe we don't tell Adrien- we show him." At the blank looks he got from both girls, Nino pulled his phone out and waved it at them. "Look, we could call him from the class, leave the phone where he'll be able to see the whole thing. That way he'll be able to figure out what's going on for himself, without someone else telling him."

Alya shrugged. "That's a good idea, but how are we going to get the phone up and facing the right way without anyone noticing? And what if he doesn't pick up?"

"I know Adrien," Nino said firmly. "He always picks up. The guy's stuck in his house on his own, Alya, do you really think he's going to ignore us?"

"And as for the phone, I can fix that," Marinette said with a grin, eyeing the little purse on her bed. "Leave it to me."

* * *

"Okay, Tikki," Marinette whispered, tucking her phone into her bag. "You know how to do this?"

Tikki nodded, wriggling in beside the phone. "Find Adrien's name and press call. I've got this, Marinette. Go!"

Marinette straightened up, clutching a handful of cue cards as her excuse. Alya and Nino were already at the front of the room, and she nodded to the bag on the floor, the camera of her phone just visible from where they were standing.

"Start whenever you're ready," Madame Bustier said from her seat at the side. Marinette took a deep breath and stepped forwards.

"Good morning, class," she said.

The roomful of students, most of them barely awake, regarded her with a distinctly uninspiring silence.

"Our presentation is going to be based on something which has been in the media just a little over the last few days," Alya continued, holding up a folded piece of paper. As she unfolded it, the class could see that it was the front cover of a local paper. **LOCAL MODEL CAUGHT IN HIT-AND-RUN** , a large photo of Adrien under the headline. At the same time, Nino started the slideshow, projecting the same image onto the board behind them.

"That's Adrien!" Rose squeaked from the back of the room.

"You're doing a presentation on Adrien?" Kim asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up slowly. "I mean, the guy's pretty cool, but-"

"Questions at the end, please," Alya said quickly, seeing Madame Bustier beginning to open her mouth. "We're on a pretty tight schedule here, people."


	11. Chapter 11

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Adrien didn't want to get up.

His head felt thick and heavy, his hair falling loosely across his eyes. There was a buzzing sound in his ears, insistent and repetitive, and someone whispering his name in a sing-song voice. "Adrien. Adrieeen." Warm, cheese-scented air wafted across his face.

"Ugh," he muttered, throwing an arm over his face. "Plagg, shut up."

"You've got a phone call," Plagg hissed. "From Marinette."

"Marinette?" Adrien reached out blindly for his phone, which turned out to be the source of the buzzing. Sure enough, there was an accept/decline option flashing on his screen under a picture of Marinette's face. He pressed accept, turning the volume up as he did, and Marinette's face vanished, replaced by a shot of the classroom. It was tilted at a funny angle; it seemed that Marinette had left her phone somewhere on the floor. But how had she accidentally called him?

Adrien frowned, and was about to disconnect the call when he heard voices. _"We're on a pretty tight schedule here, people."_

He pulled the phone closer to his face, squinting at the little screen. That was Alya, and Marinette and Nino beside her, standing at the front of the room as if they were giving a- _oh_. Their presentation. He smiled, settling down a little; Marinette must have thought he'd like to see it. The angle he was at wasn't too bad, actually; he could even make out the picture of Chat Noir on the board behind them, although it was slightly fuzzy.

 _"As you all know, Adrien was hit by a car last week, and he hasn't been in school since,"_ Nino said, and Adrien's mouth fell open. That wasn't Chat- it was him. Had they somehow figured it out, just because he hadn't shown up to the akuma attack last week? This was bad. Really bad.

 _"But there's something a little more serious we'd like to talk to you about today,"_ Alya said. _"Last Friday, we found out something we never expected."_ By now, Plagg had noticed Adrien's growing panic, and was paying attention properly, turning the volume right up with his nose almost pressed to the screen.

 _"Adrien's father, Gabriel Agreste, has decided to take him out of school."_

There was silence after Marinette's words, and it lasted just long enough for Adrien's brain to short-circuit. Then the classroom exploded in a burst of shouting. Adrien could barely make out individual phrases- he was too confused- but he did register Madame Bustier in the corner looking just as shocked as everyone else sounded.

Marinette, Alya and Nino stood patiently at the front waiting for the chaos to die down. Eventually Alya put two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle, effectively silencing the class.

 _"Thank you,"_ Marinette continued. _"We have this from a reliable source- Adrien himself contacted Nino on Thursday to tell him."_ Nino nodded grimly behind her. Adrien felt a stab of guilt as he remembered the conversation; him calling Nino blindly past midnight, long after his father had left him alone in his room, his friend's sleepy voice clarifying into worry and shock as he realised just how upset Adrien was. Plagg had eventually forced his phone into his hands when it became clear that he wouldn't be able to calm himself down- the kwami had been worried, not that he'd ever admit it.

Luckily his friends didn't seem like they were going to go into detail about the conversation; instead, they'd moved the slideshow forward, and Adrien could just make out a picture of his father on the board behind them.

 _"Obviously, this is not something any of us want to happen,"_ Alya said. _"Adrien is one of our closest friends, and one of the most kind-hearted people any of us have ever met."_ She paused, looking around the class as if she were daring them to challenge her. Adrien couldn't see anything other than the front of the room, but there was complete silence; the entire room seemed to be watching and listening as intently as he was.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Plagg hissed. Adrien shoved him aside impatiently.

 _"Unfortunately, Mr Agreste couldn't be here today. But rest assured, he will be informed of our stance of this matter as soon as possible."_ Although Nino's tone was unusually formal, his posture was familiar; stiffened limbs and clenched fists, eyes flashing behind his glasses. That was the look he wore when he knew and hated that something was unfair. Adrien frowned; from the sounds of things, they'd already tried to contact his father. It was a little surprising that he hadn't come to speak to him about it, although that was really a relief. He wasn't sure he wanted to explain why his friends seemed to be attempting to organise a rebellion on his behalf. He wasn't sure he could.

 _"Adrien chose to come to school here,"_ Marinette said. The slideshow behind her changed again, and Adrien recognised their most recent class photograph. _"He worked hard to be accepted here as himself, rather than just as his father's son. The least we can do is to try our best to give him the chance he deserves to stay here."_ There was a dead silence as she surveyed the room. _"So,"_ she said, voice clear and strong, _"are you with us?"_

The presentation had been short, but it was effective. The class exploded with noise- again, there were too many voices at once for Adrien to make out specific words. Plagg, who had had his ear pressed against the phone's speaker, yelped in shock and buried himself in a pillow. Amidst it all, Adrien could see Madame Bustier clapping sharply, but whether it was applause or a call for silence, he couldn't tell. Marinette, Alya and Nino returned to their seats; a hand fumbled clumsily with the phone for a few seconds, he got a glimpse of pink sleeve and dark hair, and then the screen went black.

 _Call disconnected._

* * *

His father found out about it before lunchtime. Nathalie came to his room to collect him, walking twice as slowly down the hall as he swung along beside her on crutches he was still getting the hang of. She actually deviated from her usual stoic expression as she knocked on the door of his father's office, giving him a sad smile. Adrien's stomach sank. He'd never expected this meeting to mean good news- his father's office never meant that- but he hadn't considered just how bad it could be. Maybe he'd be punished- more of freedom taken away, although little enough of it remained as it was- or, worse still, his friends could be punished instead. He didn't know how, but he also had no doubt that his father could, and would.

Gabriel Agreste was sitting behind his desk, but as Adrien made his way into the centre of the large rug, he stood and gestured to the sleek grey couch against the far wall. "This isn't a meeting," he said, a cold smile on his face. "Just a family discussion. There's no need to be formal."

Adrien sat down silently, unsure of how to respond. Gabriel looked expectant for a few seconds, but as the silence drew on, he sighed heavily and sat at the other end of the couch.

"You know why you're here?"

Adrien nodded.

"Tell me."

"You've decided to take me out of school," Adrien said.

"Yes. I've already told you that, though. In confidence, Adrien. Do you know what that means?"

 _It means you don't trust me enough to live my own life,_ Adrien thought, but he kept his face expressionless. His father raised an irritated eyebrow.

"It means you were not to inform anyone of that decision until I'd had all the proper arrangements made, and you knew that." The clock on the bookshelf ticked quietly, the sound only noticeable in the tense silence filling the room. "So tell me, Adrien, how come I was informed- by the mayor, no less- that some of your _former_ classmates staged some sort of protest this morning?"

Adrien did his best to look surprised, but he was too hurt by the news that Chloe had rushed to tell her father about the presentation so quickly. He knew she was petty, that she didn't get on with Marinette, but he wouldn't have thought she'd have done something like that.

"Adrien, don't ignore me. Answer my question, please."

His throat was prickling painfully. He'd had to leave Plagg in his room- the kwami had almost been caught by Adrien's father before through muttering snide remarks from his pocket. "I- I don't know. I didn't know it was happening."

"May I see your phone?"

Adrien hesitated, then handed it over, unlocking it first. His father probably already knew his password, but he wanted to hold onto the semblance of control that it offered. Long fingers tapped across the screen for a few seconds, and then turned it back at him. "Call to 'My Dude Nino', on Friday morning. What was it about?"

Adrien could remember Nino putting his number into his phone, setting the name himself- it had been the third number in the list, after Nathalie and Chloe. The words sounded alien in his father's cold tone, and it took him several seconds to realise that his father was talking about the late-night panicked call he'd made.

"I- I needed to talk to him."

"That early? Why couldn't you have spoken to myself, or Nathalie, or anyone in the house? There's no reason to be calling schoolfriends at that time. I thought I made myself quite clear on that front some time ago."

 _I needed to talk to Nino because I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't stop crying, and I felt like I was going to die,_ a voice in Adrien's head screamed. He shrugged.

"Whose idea was this?" Gabriel pressed. "Did you put him up to this, or not?"

"I didn't know it was happening," Adrien said again. "But it wasn't Nino's idea, either." Nino's approach was angrier, more direct; he never would have thought of something like this, something so crafted, so elegant.

"Do you know who it was?"

"No," Adrien said. The word left a sour taste in his mouth, because he did know, now that he thought about it. Her name was written starkly under Nino's in his call history, in the phone his father was still clasping in one hand, and he knew as well, he could see it in his eyes.

 _Call from: Marinette; 10.37 am_

"Don't," Adrien said too quickly, his heart thudding in his chest.

"Don't what?"

"Leave her alone. Do whatever you want with me, but leave Marinette alone."

Gabriel actually looked slightly surprised. "I wouldn't bother your friends, Adrien. It's not good for reputation." He paused, and Adrien knew he'd lost. He could feel the power radiating off his father, crushing him like a leaf underfoot. Tears stung the corners of his eyes, and he willed them away. He wouldn't cry; not here. "But I really don't think it's a good idea for you to associate with them anymore. They're clearly a bad influence, and you've been so tired lately, and now this?" He tapped Adrien's cast, face closed and hard. "This is for the best," he said coldly. "I'll arrange for your tutors to return next week. You're busy, Adrien, and you've got a promising career ahead of you. You can't afford to be inefficient."

Adrien didn't say another word as Nathalie escorted him back to his room, not even when she asked him if he was alright in a low voice. He sank numbly onto his bed, ignoring Plagg's worried hovering. It was only when he reached out with shaking hands to call Nino, Marinette, anyone, it was still the lunch break, someone had to pick up, that he realised his father had never given his phone back.

He was alone.

"Adrien?" Plagg headbutted him on the nose. "Adrien, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

 _He couldn't breathe._

 _He couldn't breathe._

"Adrien, listen to me-"

 _He couldn't breathe._


	12. Chapter 12

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Unsurprisingly, nobody could concentrate after the presentation- even Madame Bustier had been too shocked to comment, which at least meant that they hadn't been told off yet. It looked like even the school hadn't been told about Mr Agreste's decision yet. A part of Marinette was wondering if they'd done the right thing in telling everyone- the rest of her was busy trying to lead the debate/plotting session Alya had called at lunchtime. The whole class was there, as well as a lot of students from other classes who'd come to see what was going on.

"We could set up a petition," Max said, holding up his phone, probably about to launch into a spiel of statistical successes. "There's this website-"

Alix scoffed. "Yeah, like anyone's going to listen to a bunch of kids. We need something more direct, like a protest march or something."

"For once, I agree with her," Kim said. "I don't think people are going to pay attention to us if we try to play nice."

Max looked somewhat crushed, and opened his mouth to retort, but he was swiftly drowned out by the rest of the group. Mentioning dramatic protest methods around a gang of bored teenagers was evidently not a good idea, and it was beginning to look like they had a full-scale rebellion on their hands.

"Guys," Marinette tried, sending Alya a desperate look. "Guys!"

Alya put two fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply, bringing the discussion to a halt. Marinette sent her a grateful look. "You have got to teach me how to do that," she muttered. "Guys, I'm really glad you all want to get involved, but this isn't right. We're trying to help a friend, not plan a war. You're all acting like Mr Agreste is the bad guy here."

"But he is," Kim said. "He's the one taking Adrien out of school."

Marinette sighed. "I know, but how do you think Adrien will feel if we all start going on about it? He won't want to think about it any more than he has to. What we need to do is start thinking about how we can let Adrien know that we support him. Rose?"

The smaller girl squeaked in surprise from her position at the edge of the huddle. "Yes?"

"What do you do when you know someone's upset, and you want to make them feel better?"

Rose flushed pink, looking at her feet. "I... I don't know."

"You find a song you think I'll like, or a funny picture of cats, and show it to me," Juleka said suddenly from beside her. "You give people compliments about their outfit. You leave one of those little origami flowers on their desk before they get to class."

Rose blinked. "That was supposed to be a surprise," she mumbled. Juleka laughed, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Rose, everyone knows that stuff's all you. You're the only person in the school who thinks like that."

"And that's why I want your advice on what to do here," Marinette pushed a sheet of paper towards her. "Little things we can do to make Adrien feel loved. I think that's our first priority at the moment."

"Then what?" Kim asked.

"Then we can tackle Mr Agreste."

"And how are we going to do that?" It was Chloe asking, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I've already told Daddy all about this, and he said he'd let Mr Agreste know, but it's like Alix said. Adults won't listen to us. Face it, Marinette. Adrien's not coming back."

"Yes he is," Marinette said, before what Chloe had said caught up to her. "Wait, what do you mean, you've told your dad?"

"You said you wanted Adrien's father to know what was going on." Chloe sighed. "I do have connections, you know. Honestly, what would you all do without me?"

Alya groaned. "Chloe, you idiot. We needed to present this on our own terms. If your dad tells him, he's going to assume Adrien's told everyone. He'll think it was his idea."

"You mean it wasn't?"

"No!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to help," Chloe drawled, although she looked slightly rattled. "I guess I'll just have to let you get on with your pathetic little plan by yourselves. Come on, Sabrina."

Marinette felt like slamming her head into the table, but she took a deep breath and surveyed the rest of the group. "So, any ideas?"

"Yes, actually," Max said. "Gabriel Agreste is a successful businessman, correct? And every business relies on good publicity. How about we attack that?"

"Attack?" Kim asked with interest. "What do you mean?"

"I mean posters, leaflets, articles online telling people what's going on. Alya, you're the closest thing to a journalist we've go, so you can head social media. Nathanael, you can get some posters together?" Both students nodded, and Max glanced at Marinette. She gave him a grateful smile, and he continued. "The rest of you can get online to help Alya spread the word, you can distribute leaflets and posters, you can help Rose and Marinette with whatever they need. We need to be mature about this, because no, they won't listen to a bunch of kids. They're only going to listen to us if we act like adults." He paused for breath and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Does that cover everything, Marinette?"

"Perfectly," Marinette grinned. "Alya, Nathanael, Rose, if we manage to meet up after school, we could make a proper plan. Would that be okay?" Nathanael and Rose nodded; Alya reached for her phone.

"When did everyone in this class get so good at making speeches?" Nino muttered, holding out a hand to Max for a high-five.

In the general buzz of everyone finally seeming to know what they were doing, Marinette almost missed the little hand tugging at her sleeve. Then she looked down, yelped a hasty excuse, and hid behind the nearest door. "Tikki, what are you doing?" she hissed. "You might get seen, and I don't know how I'd explain you to my entire class."

"I'm sorry, Marinette, but it's an emergency. Chat Noir's trying to contact you."

Marinette blinked. "Chat?"

"He's trying to call you, but he can't get through because you're not transformed. I wouldn't usually mention it until later, but something feels really off about this. I think something's wrong."

"An akuma?" Marinette glanced at Alya out of habit; her friend was still on her phone, but there wasn't any of the excitement that would be on her face if potential Ladyblog content was happening.

Tikki shrugged. "I don't know, Marinette, but I think you'd better check it out, just in case it's something serious."

Marinette looked at the nearest clock; there was still nearly half an hour left of the lunch break. She nodded and headed towards the other end of the school, to the side of the playground people didn't tend to use. She knew from games of hide-and-seek that there was a good-sized gap behind a storage shed, one which should hide her from the rest of the school well enough, and she slipped into it before transforming. Sure enough, there was a call waiting on her yoyo; she flipped it open to answer it, and was met with Chat's face staring back at her.

"Chat, what's going on? Is everything okay?" She squinted at the little screen; Chat's hair was ruffled wildly, and his skin was worryingly pale compared to the black mask over his eyes.

"Um... not really, My Lady." Marinette's heart sank. She hadn't seen Chat since the fight with Threadsmith, barely a week ago, and it didn't look like he'd been okay at all in the interim.

"You want to tell me about it?" She could hear Chat's breathing, rough and unsteady. His mouth opened, but no sound came out, and with a horrible jolt, Marinette realised he was crying behind the mask. "Chat," she said. "Chat, do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Chat shook his head. "Identity stuff," he managed, choking the words out as if they burned his throat. "Not- not your problem."

"You've always been my problem," Marinette said, which, in hindsight, sounded a lot more comforting in her head. "We're partners, silly. It's my job to make sure you're doing alright. Is this something to do with what happened the other day?"

Chat's face crumpled a little. "I guess," he said. "Not really, though."

"Okay." Marinette shifted in the cramped space, trying to get a little more comfortable. "Just take a deep breath for me, okay?"

Chat did as she asked, exhaling shakily. He was trembling slightly, every muscle in his body tensed. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I- I..."

Marinette hushed him. "Don't worry, kitty. I'm glad you called me." She was aware of the time, and that Alya would probably come looking for her at some point, which would be a disaster. "Do you want to meet up somewhere later? Not patrolling, if you're still not feeling up to it, but just to catch up?"

There was a moment of silence, an unidentifiable look flashing across Chat's face. "I- I don't think I'll be able to come out for a while," he admitted eventually. "I'll see, but... yeah." Marinette was beginning to get seriously worried, both at her partner's words and the pain in them. He sounded broken, as if something in him was missing.

"Are you hurt or something?" she asked. "I mean, I could tell you were sick before, but if this is something serious..."

Chat hesitated, then nodded. "Or something," he echoed, flinching a little. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Marinette said firmly, trying to disguise the anxiety in her voice. "I'll be able to look after things for a bit. Just keep in touch, you know? Call me if you need me. What do you want me to say if people start asking where you are?"

"I don't know," Chat said, shoulders slumping. All his usual cockiness seemed to have drained out of him, leaving him exhausted, empty. "Just... say something. I trust you."

Marinette smiled. "Okay, then. I hope you feel better soon, Chat."

Chat nodded, a wan smile flickering onto his face, and the call cut off. Marinette sighed heavily and detransformed. She got halfway across the playground before Alya came running up to her. "Girl, where'd you go? Class starts in like, five minutes!"

* * *

Marinette didn't have a chance to speak to Tikki until she got home, at which point she just faceplanted into her bed and considered never getting up again. Tikki perched on her pillow, nibbling daintily on a cookie Marinette had swiped on her way upstairs. "Poor Chat," the kwami said.

"I don't know how to help him," Marinette said, the words muffled by the blankets. "Or Adrien. I'm supposed to be a hero, and I can't even help my friends."

"You are helping them, Marinette. You're there for them. That's the most important thing you could be doing."

Marinette sat up, tugging her hair loose from around her face. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Marinette, you've got your entire class making cards and presents for Adrien, Nathanael said he'd have posters and leaflets ready by the end of the week, and Alya's probably already written most of her article. I think you're doing a lot more than most people would expect."

"And what about Chat?" Marinette asked. "He wasn't okay, Tikki. He needs help, and I don't know how to give it."

"You already are," Tikki said again. "You just have to be his Ladybug, Marinette. These things always work out, I promise." Marinette smiled, cupping her hands, and Tikki settled into them. "I've seen this sort of thing before, you know," she added. "It always works out in the end."


	13. Chapter 13

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Adrien was beginning to wonder if he'd start wanting to get up less and less every day, until he finally just didn't, because today he was seriously considering going back to sleep and not bothering with today. It was looking like that wouldn't be easy though; everything hurt.

"Adrien! Finally!"

Plagg was practically bouncing on his hand, a relieved look on his little face. Adrien blinked at him. "Huh?"

"I was beginning to worry," Plagg admitted.

"Huh?"

He wasn't awake, and his head hurt too much for him to really understand what the kwami said. "Why?"

Plagg slowed down a little, wobbling a glass of water across Adrien's bedside table towards him. "You remember calling Ladybug yesterday afternoon, right?" Adrien frowned. He did- kind of. He remembered hearing her voice, anyway, because his dad-

"Oh my god, Marinette-"

"Your head's kind of messed up at the moment, but at least try to stay calm. Deep breaths?" Plagg looked genuinely worried, hovering so close to Adrien's face his vision went fuzzy trying to focus on him. "So yesterday your dad called you through for some meeting, and you wouldn't let me go with you, and when you got back you kind of just sat down and started hyperventilating without telling me what was going on. Long story short- no, you can explain in a minute- you couldn't call any of your friends, and you weren't listening to me, so you transformed and called Ladybug instead, and I am not letting you do that again, okay?"

"Call Ladybug?" Adrien sipped at the water and tried to ignore the way his hands were shaking. "Why not?"

"Transforming with a cast on your leg, you idiot. I've never even tried that before, but that is not the way these things are meant to work. You finished the call and passed out for-" he peered at the clock beside Adrien's bed- "like, seventeen hours. That's not okay, Adrien. Nathalie checked in yesterday evening, but I think she just thought you were sleeping. She'll probably be along soon enough."

"Got it," Adrien mumbled. "My dad took my phone, by the way. He figured out Marinette was in charge of the presentation thing, and I don't know what he's going to do next, Plagg. I don't know what _I'm_ going to do." He set the glass down on the table harder than he needed to, just to have something to do with his hands.

"Things might sort themselves out?" Plagg suggested. Adrien groaned and buried his face in his arms. "Look, think about this after you've had breakfast, and painkillers and stuff. That's what I usually do."

"Yeah, because you give such good advice," Adrien muttered. There was a knock at the door and Nathalie walked in, along with an intern carrying a tray. Plagg dived into an open drawer and hid in a pile of Adrien's socks.

"Good morning, Adrien," she said. Adrien did his best to smile at her, although it was the last thing he felt like doing, and she sighed, taking the tray from the intern and dismissing her with a wave. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great," Adrien admitted. "Is that my medication?" He held out a hand for the pills, but Nathalie set the tray down on his desk and stood by the edge of his bed. "Nathalie?"

"I have to say, I don't agree with what your father's doing to you, Adrien," the secretary said quietly. "I've noticed how much happier you've been since you started at the school, even if he hasn't, and I don't think he has any right to take that away from you. You work hard at everything he asks you to do. He owes you this, at least."

"I have friends there," Adrien said, slightly ashamed of how childish he sounded. "I've never really had that before." He could smell the food on the tray; toast and eggs. It was making him feel ill.

"Chloe-"

"Chloe's different." She was- she understood what it was like to be treated as a treasure rather than a person, but she was also shallow and selfish. His other classmates weren't, for the most part.

"I know, Adrien. I've been meaning to have a conversation with your father about this for a while now. I don't know how much of an effect it would have, but-"

"Would you?" Adrien's heart beat a little faster; his father probably trusted Nathalie more than he trusted his own son. If anyone could change his mind, it would be her.

"I could try. Would that be alright?" Adrien nodded, understanding the look she was giving him. She wanted to help, but she didn't want to get his hopes up.

"Please," he said, meeting her eyes. Nathalie nodded, and turned to retrieve the tray. Adrien's stomach twisted as he saw the plate of food, and he shook his head. "Just the medicine, please," he said, turning his face away and closing his eyes. "I- I'm not really hungry."

He heard a sigh and the clink of the little dish of pills being set down on his bedside table, and then the sound of the door opening. "I'll come up again later, Adrien," Nathalie said.

"Thank you," Adrien managed, just as the door clicked shut behind her. He took the medicine quickly, washing it down with the last of the glass of water, and sank back into his pillows.

"Hey, someone else joined Team Adrien," Plagg drawled. He seemed entirely happy to remain in Adrien's sock drawer. "That's what, your entire class, Ladybug, your dad's PA, and me. Not bad."

"Yeah, because you're so much help," Adrien said. "With your cheese obsession and sleeping, how could we lose?"

"Excuse me, but I'm an ancient being with powers beyond your understanding."

"Plagg, you're using one of my socks as a sleeping bag." Adrien grinned at the kwami. "Come on, get out, you'll make them smell of cheese."

"They couldn't smell any worse than they already do," Plagg complained, wriggling out of the drawer and bouncing onto the end of Adrien's bed. "Jeez, picky, much? Who else do you want on your side, the President?"

* * *

"Wow, Nathanael. Who are you trying to impress here? The President?"

Kim's statement was matched by nods from around the room. The whole class had turned up ten minutes early to see Nathanael's drafts of the posters they were planning to use in their campaign. The artist himself was so nervous he hadn't said a word since he'd set his tablet on the table in front of Marinette.

"This is fantastic, Nathanael," Marinette said, pointing at the first design. A black and white picture of Adrien took up half of the page, with the words _Everyone Has Rights_ in red next to it. "Have you got any more?"

Nathanael nodded, cheeks almost the same colour as his hair, and flicked to the next poster. This one was more like a cartoon strip, showing a suited figure with Gabriel Agreste's distinctive silver-blonde hair dragging a miserable-looking Adrien away from the school. Although the sketches seemed light-hearted, the more Marinette looked at it, the more uneasy it made her feel, and a glance at the rest of the class showed the same reaction.

" _Dude_ ," Nino whispered after a minute. Nathanael stammered something nobody caught and flicked to the last example.

Marinette's breath caught in her throat. It was their class photo, the one taken in the park, although Nathanael had managed to photoshop Chloe and Sabrina into it as well. He'd also made every member of the class, except Adrien, black and white. Their friend stood out in stark colour against their grey faces. _Don't Leave Him Alone_ was printed underneath.

"This works really well," Alya said. "You aren't just showing that he's gone- you're putting the emphasis on the fact that he's not _with us_. This is genius, Nathanael."

"I was wondering if I should put a paragraph from your article on it underneath, explaining the situation properly," Nathanael said quietly, too flustered to meet anyone's eyes. "You'd be able to put it better than I could."

"That's a great idea," Marinette said. "You two can sort that out, right?" Before she could continue, the door opened and Madame Bustier walked in. She only looked slightly surprised to see her whole class gathered around the front desks. The whole room looked up, expecting trouble, but the teacher just smiled.

"Much as I support your efforts, class, I do have to say that campaigning needs to be kept to an extracurricular activity." She nodded as everyone hurried to their own seats, and started the lesson.

Adrien's name was conspicuously absent from the start of the register.

* * *

Rose approached Marinette that lunchtime to tell her that she'd spoken to her parents, who ran a local florist, and that they were happy for her to take a bouquet of flowers to Adrien. She'd also gone round most of the class earlier, asking them all to sign a card for him. Marinette thanked her as she signed her name and passed the card on to Alya. "When do you want to give them to him?" she asked, and Rose blinked in surprise.

"I- I thought I'd just give them to you, and you could pass them on to Adrien," she said. "Wouldn't that be easier, since you know him best?"

While Marinette spluttered- _since when did she know Adrien best?_ \- Alya handed the card back to Rose, giving their classmate an encouraging smile. "Rose, of course you have to come! You got him flowers, and asked everyone to sign the card- there's no way we could give them to him without you."

"Actually, I haven't asked everyone yet," Rose said, nodding to where Chloe and Sabrina were on their phones across the playground. "Last time I asked Chloe to sign a card, she took up most of the space and there was hardly room for anyone else's names. I thought I'd better get her last."

"Good thinking," said Alya. "How about we meet up after school today, then? We could see if Nino wants to come too, and Marinette could bring something from the bakery, and we could all go and visit him together."

"That would be really nice," Rose said, beaming.

They arranged to meet outside Rose's parents' shop, so the flowers would be as fresh as possible. Rose was so pleased she hugged both girls tightly before going to face Chloe, and Alya smiled fondly after her as she walked away.

"That girl is going to go far," she said.

"She's lovely, isn't she," Marinette agreed. "And it'll be good to see Adrien again. I'm kind of worried- he hasn't answered the texts Nino or I have sent him."

Alya's eyes widened. "You sent Adrien a text? Without me writing it or pressing send for you?" she demanded, holding up a hand for a high-five. "Girl, that is some _serious_ progress!"

"Alya-"

"Look, if I'd known that all you needed to start speaking to him-"

"I'm not really speaking to him, I'm trying to get him back in school-"

"-was a cause to work towards... oh my god, this would make such a good musical."

"Alya!"


	14. Chapter 14

_If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Of course, Hawkmoth chose that afternoon to come off hiatus. Marinette had barely got off her street, box of macaroons clasped under one arm, when she heard the screams.

"Are you kidding me?" she groaned, ducking into the nearest alley. "Tikki, spots on. Let's make this quick."

The sounds were coming from the direction of the Agreste mansion, and a sinking feeling appeared in Marinette's stomach. Had Adrien been akumatised? It would hardly be surprising after everything that had happened, but it was exactly the opposite of what Adrien needed. Being akumatised was disorientating and tiring, judging by the previous victims, and Adrien was in no state to start flying around Paris attacking people. Marinette didn't want to fight him, but she knew she didn't have a choice.

She made it to the mansion in a couple of minutes, and paused on the neighbouring rooftop. The akuma was standing outside the building, watching various staff flee through the gates into the street, and Marinette's first thought was that, if this was Adrien, Hawkmoth had really done a number on him this time. The akuma was dressed in a black suit similar to Marinette's own, and long red cape. Most of their face was covered by what looked like a large pair of dark glasses in the familiar butterfly shape, but what skin she could see looked normal enough. The whole bizarre appearance was rounded off by the black clipboard the akuma was brandishing.

"Gabriel Agreste!" a surprisingly familiar voice shouted- a familiar voice that certainly wasn't Adrien. It was a woman's voice, but Marinette couldn't quite place it. "I request a meeting!"

"Mr Agreste isn't available at the moment." Marinette dropped in front of the akuma. "Will I do instead?"

"I'm afraid not," the akuma said. "This is a rather pressing matter." She started walking towards the steps, and Marinette pulled her back with her yoyo.

"We're all busy," she said, jerking the furious akuma to the ground and reaching for the clipboard.

"You don't understand," the akuma said, a desperate note in her voice. "His son-"

"Adrien?"

"I'm not heartless," the akuma insisted. "I know what he's been doing to him. It has to stop." A purple outline appeared around her mask, and Marinette shook her head.

"Whatever he's telling you, it's wrong," she said urgently. "Getting my miraculous won't help you help Adrien. I want to help him too."

Something was rattling at the back of her brain; she knew who this person was. She was sure of it.

"Do you really?"

"Yes!" Marinette could have cried; this was at least better than fighting the akuma, but trying to reason with a brainwashed person was never easy.

"I'm not heartless," the akuma said again, and the pieces fell into place. The familiar voice, the inside knowledge of Gabriel's treatment of Adrien, even the red and black outfit...

"No, you're not," Marinette said. "You're really not, Nathalie Sancoeur." The akumatised woman flinched, and Marinette continued, pouring conviction into her tone. "But this isn't right. You know that, really."

Purple flared again, and the akuma's face twisted. "With your miraculous, I could have the power to solve everything myself," she snapped.

"Sometimes we all need help," Marinette said quietly, and grabbed the clipboard from her hand, breaking it over her knee in one fluid movement. The akuma fluttered out; Marinette purified it and threw the broken clipboard in the air in place of the lucky charm. As the aftereffects faded away, she turned to Nathalie, helping her up.

"Ladybug-"

"We will help him," she said quietly. "It'll work out in the end. These things always do." She released Nathalie's hand, directing her towards the house. "Now, I believe you have a meeting with Mr Agreste?"

* * *

On her way back to where she'd left the macaroons, Marinette caught a glimpse of a familiar trio standing in the street. She winced as she realised just how late she was to meet Rose, Nino and Alya, and only hesitated a moment before landing in front of them.

Alya's face brightened immediately, while Nino and Rose's jaws dropped. "Ladybug!"

"Is there an akuma?" Nino asked, looking around as if Hawkmoth would suddenly jump out from behind a corner.

"Um, not anymore," Marinette said. "I'm kind of in a hurry, though, so..."

"Wait!" Rose blurted suddenly, and Marinette turned to face her shy classmate. Rose held out a familiar card. "Could you- could you sign this? It's, um, for a friend of ours."

"Dude's having a pretty rough time," Nino added. "It would mean a lot."

Alya seemed to have temporarily lost the ability to speak, but she pulled a pen out of her pocket and handed it to Marinette. Marinette found a spot as far away from her own signature as she could, and doodled a little ladybug in the corner of the card. She added a smiley face, and a kiss because she could. "Tell him get well soon," she said as her friends thanked her. "Bug out!"

Marinette touched down in the alley, detransformed, and full-out sprinted back to the florists. "I'm sorry I'm late," she gasped. "My parents wouldn't let me leave the house when they realised there was an akuma attack going on."

"MARINETTE," Alya screeched in her ear, "ROSE IS A GENIUS."

"Ow," Nino commented, while Rose turned as pink as her dress. "Can we walk and talk at the same time, people?"

Alya's excitement at meeting Ladybug and getting her autograph, "-and sure, it isn't for me, but it's an autograph, girl, how cool is that-" was infectious, and Marinette had almost forgotten the akuma by the time they reached the mansion. She remembered once she saw the open gates; either some of Gabriel's terrified staff hadn't returned yet, or they'd all forgotten to close the gates behind them.

"Nice," Nino whistled, and walked right in before any of them could stop him. Marinette shrugged and followed suit.

The front door was open as well, and they got all the way to the corridor Adrien's room was on before seeing anyone. Or rather, hearing anyone. As they reached the top of the stairs, Marinette caught the sound of raised voices just around the corner. Hushing her friends, she pressed herself against the wall, listening intently.

"-then I strongly suggest you reconsider."

"Or what?" Gabriel Agreste said softly. Marinette could see silhouettes moving against the wall at the far end of the corridor.

"Or I'll resign," Nathalie said. "Don't give me that look, Gabriel. I will. In a heartbeat."

"And you think that's going to force me to do anything? I ran my business without you before, Ms. Sancouer. I can do so again." There was a hint of humour in the man's voice. Behind Marinette, Nino's mouth had fallen open and Rose's eyes were wide with confusion. Alya had her phone out and appeared to be recording the entire thing.

"You hired me before Adrien was born," Nathalie said. "Your business has grown exponentially since then, plus there's all Adrien's engagements to be managed. You need me, Gabriel. That's why you're not threatening to fire me right now."

"I don't need anyone. Especially not a secretary who thinks she's got the right to start telling me how to care for my son."

There was a tense pause. " _Care_ for your son?" Nathalie bit out. The four teenagers crouched in the stairwell flinched at the ice in her tone.

"I raised Adrien well," Gabriel said. "He's healthy, he's polite, he's good at what he does. He's happy."

"Happy?" The word was spat in a whisper that may as well have been a shout for the venom it carried. "You think that boy is happy? You raised your son alright, Gabriel- you raised him to be a machine, to do what you needed him to do. Open your eyes! Do you think normal children beg to just be allowed to go to school? Do you think normal children collapse in the street, exhausted? Everyone's noticed. His classmates have practically organised a revolution against this, against _you_. If you'd bothered to speak to him properly recently, you'd see it too. You're killing him, Gabriel. A child shouldn't have that sort of look in his eyes."

"Adrien is not a-"

"Because you won't give him a damned chance to _be_ one!" This was closer to a shout, a piercing burst of fury, and Marinette winced. "Either you get your act together, or I leave, and don't think I won't be calling social services the second I step outside of this house."

There was a horrible silence, and then the sound of footsteps walking away down the corridor, a door closing sharply. Someone sighed, so heavily Marinette couldn't tell who, and a second set of footsteps started coming around the corner towards them. Rose squeaked in fear; Alya swore under her breath as she fumbled to shove her phone back in her pocket. Nino started edging backwards down the stairs, but Marinette shoved her box of pastries into his arms and stepped out into the hall.

Nathalie came around the corner, posture stiff and head held high, and surveyed Marinette in silence for several seconds. Her gaze darted round the group, taking in the fury in Alya's eyes, the way Nino was clutching a box of treats like a bomb about to explode, the bouquet in Rose's trembling arms, and then she nodded, giving them an uncharacteristically warm smile as she passed.

Marinette released a long breath. "Okay," she said, trying not to show how shaken she was. "Let's go."

A mixture of emotions surged in her as they approached the door; her old shyness merging with newer protectiveness. _You're killing him,_ Nathalie had said, the words so serious, so sharp. Nino gave her box back and knocked on the door for them, and was answered with a meek "hello?"

She let the others go first, let Adrien greet them in a soft voice, before Alya sighed and dragged her in by the elbow.

Nino was perched by Adrien's side on the couch, saying something quiet none of them could catch. Adrien's head was bowed to listen, hair falling across his face, but he raised his gaze as Alya shut the door firmly behind them, and Marinette's heart shattered with worry. He looked ill- pale, with dark smudges under his eyes, face drawn and anxious.

"Oh, Adrien," she whispered, and Adrien's face cracked in a weak smile.

"Hey, Marinette," he said. "You guys have got to stop sneaking into my house."

"We didn't really _sneak,_ " Alya said. "The gate was open."

"Oh, yeah. There was an akuma outside earlier," Adrien said, flinching slightly. "My father's... uh, Nathalie." By the look on his face, Nino had already explained what they'd overheard to him.

Alya blinked in surprise, and for a second Marinette was afraid she'd start interrogating Adrien, but then she grinned and said, "Hey, speaking of all that stuff, guess who we met on our way here?" She waved at Rose, who was staring around Adrien's immense room, openmouthed. The girl squeaked in surprise, almost dropping her bouquet, and fumbled to get the card out of her bag.

"These are for you," she said, plunking the flowers into Adrien's lap and holding out the card. "Um, they're from everyone-"

"Rose sorted everything," Marinette said. "Including..."

Probably enjoying it more than she should, she watched Adrien read through the card, eyes widening with every name until- "Is that... no way. You didn't actually- oh my god."

"Yup," Nino said with satisfaction. "A bona fide Ladybug autograph, just for you."

"Oh my god," Adrien said again. "I- I don't know how to thank you for this."

"A smile would be good," Marinette suggested, and Adrien obliged, excitement obvious despite his pallor. _Someone's a fan, then._

"Also, we're sticking these up around town," Alya added, showing him her phone, "if that's okay?"

Adrien's face fell a little as he looked at the poster designs. "I-"

"We won't do it if you're uncomfortable with it, dude," Nino said, concern lacing his tone. "Seriously. Just say the word."

Adrien blinked down at the flowers in his lap, then shook his head. "No."

"No as in..."

"As in do it." He glanced up at them, looking so fragile and yet so determined in one fleeting moment. "I- I'm done. With everything."

He looked like he was either about to give a speech or start crying; Marinette couldn't tell. They never found out, because at that moment, Adrien's bedroom door opened, and Gabriel Agreste walked in.

"Adrien," he said, barely looking at the other teenagers in the room. There was a tense pause, almost worse than those minutes out in the hall, as Adrien met his father's eyes, refusing him any other response. The man took a deep breath. "You're taking at least a fortnight off school for rest and recovery."

And he walked out, leaving silence behind him.

"What?" Adrien whispered after a few seconds, his face drained of colour. "What- what did he say?" He was shaking slightly, Marinette noticed. "Guys? Nino? What did he- what's- _please_ -"

"I- your dad's scary, dude," Nino managed, eyes huge behind his glasses. "What the-"

"I- I think we won," Marinette said, so quietly she hardly recognised her own voice, the words spilling from her lips before she could understand them.

"We won," Alya echoed, and then again, louder. "We won!"

Rose actually clapped, eyes shining, and Nino whooped loudly, and even as Alya shouted something about a victory selfie, Marinette found herself sinking down onto the couch beside Adrien. He was still trembling as he met her eyes, so green and so familiar, and so scared, she realised. Scared that this was just another twisted game, that they'd misunderstood it after all.

"We won," she murmured once more, just for him, and Adrien pitched forward, burying his face in her shoulder, jumbled words shuddering out of him. Everyone else piled in, a mess of hugs and excitement, and the words shone brightly in Marinette's head like neon lights.

 _We won._


	15. Chapter 15

**this is the end! she says, looking at the fic that was supposed to be less than 5k words long. oh well.**

I'm so bad at responding to reviews, but I'm so grateful for all the support I've got from all you lovely lovely people. thank you for giving me such an enthusiastic welcome to the fandom ^^

also this chapter is so sappy feel free to play _in the rain_ as you read

see you next time?

anna x

 _If you recognise it, it's not mine._

* * *

Any fears that they'd misunderstood were assuaged the following Monday, when Madame Bustier told the class that Mr Agreste had changed his mind, and that Adrien would be returning to school once he'd fully recovered. This meant until his leg was out of the cast, apparently, so longer than the two weeks they'd heard the other day, but Marinette didn't care, and judging by the rest of the class's reactions, they didn't either. Juleka had actually tackle-hugged Rose, Kim was high-fiving everyone so enthusiastically Max nearly got knocked off his seat, and even Chloe's smile was genuine, with no trace of her usual brattiness. Madame Bustier didn't bother trying to calm them down; she just sat and watched, accepting Kim's high-five when he paused in front of her.

"He's really coming back," Nino said, turning round to face them. "We actually did it."

"I think Ms. Sancouer had more to do with it than anything," Marinette pointed out. "I mean, she threatened to resign and stuff. I think that's what did it. really."

Alya waved a dismissive hand. "That pushed him over the edge," she said. "The first thing we're going to do when Adrien gets back is make sure he knows exactly how much work you did for this."

Marinette frowned. "But I didn't really do-" She broke off as Alya raised an eyebrow, and sighed. "Okay, I did some stuff, but so did everyone. It's not like it was just me."

Alya and Nino gave her identical exasperated looks. "Girl, you got the entire class to work together as a team. Even the teachers can't do that."

"You did good, Marinette," Kim added, skidding to a halt by their desks. "High-five?"

Marinette laughed and obliged.

After that, school more or less returned to normal. Since only the four of them knew about the ultimatum Nathalie gave Mr Agreste, the rest of the class thought that Adrien's return was more or less entirely through their effort. Everyone seemed so pleased by this that Marinette decided it wasn't worth telling them, and as the weeks went by, she was increasingly glad of that decision.

The entire class had changed slightly, and all for the better. Kim and Alix still bickered, but it was a lot more playful- Marinette was amazed when she heard they were actually planning to race each other for charity, rather than competition. Nathanael asked Alya if he could join the group of students who worked on the school newspaper, and didn't stop smiling for the rest of the week when they offered him a place as a regular cartoonist. Rose shook off some of her shyness, coming up to people and complimenting them freely. Even Chloe seemed to have taken a step back; she still seemed to think the world revolved around her, but she had apparently realised that the rest of the class wasn't going to agree with that. With everyone being that much more comfortable with themselves and each other, there was nothing for her to latch onto, and her once biting comments slowly started to lose their effect. When she pointed this out to Alya, her friend just laughed. "Marinette, you've changed too," she said, and when Marinette asked her what she meant, she just smiled.

They tried to visit Adrien after school most days, bringing him schoolwork so he wouldn't fall too far behind. Within that first few weeks, there was a day where she found herself there alone- she still wasn't sure whether Alya had arranged that or not. When she arrived, Adrien was sitting at his desk, looking at the bouquet Rose had given him.

"They're starting to wilt," he said.

"Oh?" Marinette set the copied notes aside and moved closer.

"I wish I could keep them," Adrien said, and Marinette laughed.

"You could always press them," she suggested. "I did that all the time when I was little. You just put them between heavy books and stuff for a few weeks."

Adrien grinned. "Can we try that, then?" he asked, and Marinette was struck by just how much better he looked. If she ignored the cast, she could hardly believe that he was the same person as the pale, exhausted boy she'd helped just a couple of weeks ago. He directed her to where the thickest encyclopedias were kept on his sizable bookshelf, and they spent the afternoon carefully clipping the flowers, laying them between sheets of tissue paper before setting the books aside.

"Yellow roses," Adrien said absently at one point. "I looked them up, by the way. Roses are supposed to mean love, but different colours mean different love, I mean." He paused, and Marinette tried to ignore the way his arm was brushing against hers. "Yellow means friendship," he said, smiling, and Marinette could breathe again.

"That's Rose for you," she managed. "She thinks of these things." Adrien hummed slightly, focusing on the flower in his hands. "What are you going to do with them afterwards?"

Adrien shrugged. "I already gave Nathalie one of the actual flowers, so I thought I could give them to everyone else. You've all been so kind, and you still are, so I guess it's the least I could do. I'm pretty sure there's enough for everyone."

* * *

The other thing keeping Marinette busy, of course, were her duties as Ladybug. Chat Noir still hadn't made a reappearance, and she was starting to become seiously worried. She was managing to keep on top of the akumas, but running patrols every night for so long were taking their toll on her. Her parents hadn't noticed how tired she was- if they did, they'd probably suggest she stopped spending so much time with Adrien, and she didn't want that- but Alya had, and Marinette wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it up. As the weeks wore on, she began to wonder if something serious had happened to her partner, if one day she'd end up fighting an akuma alongside a stranger wearing Chat's ring.

Things almost came to a head the day she got to school on time, but dozed off in her seat before Alya arrived. Her friend woke her up gently, but Marinette could see the question in her face. _Marinette, are you okay?_ she was about to ask, and then the interrogation would begin, fueled by concern and the fact that they all knew what total exhaustion looked like by now.

As it turned out, Alya never asked her, because just then, the door opened, and the class exploded with noise. Marinette was so drowsy she didn't realise what was happening until she looked up to see Adrien sitting in front of her.

"Dude, you never told us you were coming back this week!" Nino whooped, clapping his friend across the back. Adrien grinned, accepting hugs and greetings from the rest of the class. He looked a little overwhelmed, but that was easily ignored in favour of the smile splitting his face. As Madame Bustier waited for the clamour to die down, people began to head back to their seats, but Adrien caught Nathanael by the arm before he could sit down.

"Hey, I'm sorry you never got to use your posters," Adrien said softly. "I can't believe you did that for me."

Nathanael shrugged, grinning shyly. "It's fine," he said. "The important thing is that you're back."

"You can celebrate later," Madame Bustier said patiently. She smiled suddenly. "But welcome back, Adrien. It's good to see you again."

There was a spontaneous party that lunchtime, and the excitement from that kept Marinette going for the rest of the day, but when she got home, she was so tired she just dropped her bag on the floor and faceplanted into her bed.

"I'm glad Adrien's better, but you're starting to worry me, Marinette," Tikki said. "Maybe you should skip patrol for tonight?"

Marinette shook her head. "Chat'll be back soon," she said, although she wasn't convinced. "That or- or..."

"He'll be back," Tikki assured her. "Believe me, you'd know if anything like that had happened." She paused. "Take a nap, Marinette," she decided. "We'll work out what to do later."

She went out on patrol anyway, because it was a clear night and going out on a night like this, when it was just her and the stars above the rooftops, always helped her think. She spent the first twenty minutes just leaping around for the fun of it, although she kept an eye on the streets below all the same.

Then she heard a familiar laugh echoing across the city, and saw a figure silhouetted against the lights of the Eiffel Tower for a brief second.

"No," she whispered, and then she heard that laugh again, and she was moving without realising it, soaring across the rooftops without pausing for breath. Somewhere along the way the figure saw her, and shouted something she didn't catch. Before she knew it they were standing on the same rooftop, somewhere wide and flat, the tower lit up behind them.

"My lady," Chat whispered, the sound carrying in the night.

"Chat." She would have said more, but then Chat threw his staff aside and rushed forward, embracing her so tightly she staggered. "Chat?"

"Oh, god," he murmured into her shoulder. "I've missed you, my lady."

"I've missed you too, silly kitty," Marinette said when he let her go, placing both her hands on his shoulders. She'd forgotten how much taller than her he was. "Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"I am now," Chat said. "My- stuff happened. A lot of stuff, and it took a while for it to go away, but I'm fine." He looked at her, cupping her face in one hand. "You look tired, my lady. Is everything alright?"

"I've been busy too, Chat." His face crumbled, and Marinette could see the apology in his face. She put a finger on his lips, effectively stopping him. "Shh, don't worry about it. You being back to normal is more important."

He frowned uncertainly, then his eyes lit up. "I forgot! I have something for you." Fishing in some hidden pocket on his suit, he presented Marinette with a bundle of tissue paper. She unwrapped it carefully, and froze.

Sitting in her palm, faded against the bright red of her suit, was a single dried rose. It still had its yellow colour, although the petals were paper-thin now, and Marinette recognised it instantly, even though every corner of her brain was shutting down.

"I know it's not much, but- my lady, are you alright?"

The flower suddenly seemed unbelievably heavy in her hand as she closed her fingers around it, forcing herself to meet Chat's eyes. Green eyes, different through the mask, but the colour...

"Ladybug?"

And that voice. She had dreamed of that voice for so long- how had she never realised?

"I know who you are," she managed. "Chat, I'm sorry, I-"

"You- how?" His gaze flitted to the little flower, and his eyes widened. "No-"

She didn't know whether she was about to cry or throw up, but Chat caught her by the wrist before she could turn away. "Is there really any point in hiding anymore?" he asked, and numbly, silently, she shook her head.

Their transformations released at the same time, the double flash blinding her for a second before she looked up to see Adrien standing in front of her, one hand covering his eyes. "Chat- Adrien- you can look," she said, something in her chest tightening like a spring. "It's okay."

Their eyes met, and she saw the same look she'd seen that day his father told him he could go back to school. He was scared, she realised, scared that she'd reject him now, that this was the end.

"Marinette?" He was shocked, as well- of course he was. Who'd believe this?

"Hi," she said. "I'm sorry-"

"What are you sorry for?" He moved closer- she could feel the heat coming from his body now. His hands were shaking a little.

"I'm not- I'm not who you'd expect. I'm-"

"Marinette," he breathed, "you're the only person I could ever want." He flushed suddenly, stumbling backwards. "I mean- oh, crap. I mean, you're Ladybug, and I can't think of anyone better."

There was a silence while they looked at each other, taking in the details they'd missed until now- her earrings, his ring, the hair, the eyes- until an exasperated voice interrupted.

"I don't believe this," a small black thing said, poking its head out of Adrien's jacket pocket. "You _literally broke your leg_ , and the thing that gets you caught out is a _flower_?"

"Plagg, this isn't the time," Tikki hissed, wriggling out of Marinette's purse. "Come on, leave them alone."

"No, it's okay," Marinette said. She felt strangely calm, as if everything had slowed down around her. "You guys can go catch up if you like. It's been a while, right?"

"No kidding," Adrien's kwami said, tackling Tikki midair. "Don't stay out too late, kids."

 **end.**


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